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# nihilism

noun (nihilism, uncountable)

«nihilism» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (formal) The belief that nothing really matters or has meaning, and that life has no purpose. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#m1)
2. (formal, history) The idea that all rules, laws and traditions should be rejected or destroyed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#m2)

### In the lessons

A philosophy and ethics word, mainly for older pupils and adults. In philosophy lessons children may meet the question «Does anything matter?», and nihilism is the answer «no». Many thinkers and religions disagree and say life has meaning through love, kindness, God, or what we choose to do.

### Examples

- Nihilism is the idea that life has no meaning. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x1)
- The villain in the story shows nihilism: he thinks nothing matters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x2)
- Our philosophy club talked about nihilism and whether kindness matters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x3)
- Christians believe life has meaning because God made people, so they disagree with nihilism. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x4)
- Some teenagers joke about nihilism when they are bored. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x5)
- The writer Nietzsche wrote a lot about nihilism. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. A nihilist is a person who believes it; the adjective is nihilistic. Pronounced «NY-ill-ism» or «NEE-ill-ism». From Latin «nihil» meaning «nothing». A trap: being sad or bored is not nihilism; nihilism is a belief.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «nihilism» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nihilism/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«nihilism» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/nihilism.html) on Mova free.