Nihilist


[nahy-uh-liz-uh m, nee-] /ˈnaɪ əˌlɪz əm, ˈni-/

noun
1.
total rejection of established laws and institutions.
2.
anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity.
3.
total and absolute destructiveness, especially toward the world at large and including oneself:
the power-mad nihilism that marked Hitler’s last years.
4.
Philosophy.

5.
(sometimes initial capital letter) the principles of a Russian revolutionary group, active in the latter half of the 19th century, holding that existing social and political institutions must be destroyed in order to clear the way for a new state of society and employing extreme measures, including terrorism and assassination.
6.
annihilation of the self, or the individual consciousness, especially as an aspect of mystical experience.
/ˈnaɪɪˌlɪzəm/
noun
1.
a complete denial of all established authority and institutions
2.
(philosophy) an extreme form of scepticism that systematically rejects all values, belief in existence, the possibility of communication, etc
3.
a revolutionary doctrine of destruction for its own sake
4.
the practice or promulgation of terrorism
/ˈnaɪɪˌlɪzəm/
noun
1.
(in tsarist Russia) any of several revolutionary doctrines that upheld terrorism
n.

1836 in the religious or philosophical sense, from French nihiliste, from Latin nihil (see nihilism). In the Russian political sense, it is recorded from 1871. Related: Nihilistic.
n.

1817, “the doctrine of negation” (in reference to religion or morals), from German Nihilismus, from Latin nihil “nothing at all” (see nil), coined by German philosopher Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743-1819). In philosophy, an extreme form of skepticism (1836). The political sense was first used by German journalist Joseph von Görres (1776-1848). Turgenev used the Russian form of the word (nigilizm) in “Fathers and Children” (1862) and claimed to have invented it. With a capital N-, it refers to the Russian revolutionary anarchism of the period 1860-1917, supposedly so called because “nothing” that then existed found favor in their eyes.

nihilism ni·hil·ism (nī’ə-lĭz’əm, nē’-)
n.

nihilism [(neye-uh-liz-uhm, nee-uh-liz-uhm)]

An approach to philosophy that holds that human life is meaningless and that all religions, laws, moral codes, and political systems are thoroughly empty and false. The term is from the Latin nihil, meaning “nothing.”

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  • Nihilistically

    [nahy-uh-lis-tik] /ˌnaɪ əˈlɪs tɪk/ adjective 1. of or believing in , or the total rejection of established laws and institutions: An exhibition of nihilistic art—now there’s an oxymoron! 2. embracing anarchy, terrorism, and destruction: nihilstic tactics learned in a terrorist bootcamp. 3. Philosophy. of or believing in an extreme form of skepticism; belief in nothingness.

  • Nihility

    [nahy-hil-i-tee, nee-] /naɪˈhɪl ɪ ti, ni-/ noun 1. nothingness; nonexistence. /naɪˈhɪlɪtɪ/ noun 1. the state or condition of being nothing; nothingness; nullity n. 1670s, from Medieval Latin nihilitas, from nihil “nothing at all” (see nil).

  • Nihilo

    [eks nahy-uh-loh, nee-uh-] /ˌɛks ˈnaɪ ə loʊ, ˈni ə-/ adverb, adjective, Latin. 1. out of nothing; from nothing. [eks ni-hi-loh ni-hil fit; English eks nahy-hi-loh nahy-hil fit, nee-hi-loh nee-hil] /ɛks ˈnɪ hɪˌloʊ ˈnɪ hɪl ˈfɪt; English ɛks ˈnaɪ hɪˌloʊ ˈnaɪ hɪl ˈfɪt, ˈni hɪˌloʊ ˈni hɪl/ Latin. 1. nothing is created from nothing. Latin, literally […]

  • Nihil-obstat

    [nahy-hil ob-stat, nee-] /ˈnaɪ hɪl ˈɒb stæt, ˈni-/ noun, Roman Catholic Church. 1. permission to publish a book, granted by an official censor who, upon examining it, has certified that it contains nothing contrary to faith or morals. /ˈɒbstæt/ uknown 1. the phrase used by a Roman Catholic censor to declare publication inoffensive to faith […]

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