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ni·hil·ism
 (n    -l  z  m, n  -)
KEY
NOUN:
-
Philosophy
- An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence.
- A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.
- Rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief.
- The belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement.
- also
Nihilism
A diffuse, revolutionary movement of mid 19th-century Russia that scorned authority and tradition and believed in reason, materialism, and radical change in society and government through terrorism and assassination.
-
Psychiatry
A delusion, experienced in some mental disorders, that the world or one's mind, body, or self does not exist.
ETYMOLOGY:
Latin nihil, nothing; see ne in Indo-European roots +
-ism
OTHER FORMS:
nihil·ist
(Noun),
nihil·istic
(Adjective),
nihil·isti·cal·ly
(Adverb)
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