Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Word for the day....nihilism

Whatever could I be thinking about when I use this word? Bobby Jindal's response to Obama's speech last night. I could also add a few other words: oblivious, deaf....

nihilism
One entry found.

Main Entry:
ni·hil·ism
Pronunciation:
\ˈnī-(h)ə-ˌli-zəm, ˈnē-\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
German Nihilismus, from Latin nihil nothing — more at nil
Date:
circa 1817

1 a: a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless b: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths

2 a: a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility bcapitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination


— ni·hil·ist \-list\ noun or adjective
— ni·hil·is·tic \ˌnī-(h)ə-ˈlis-tik, ˌnē-\ adjective

Click here to hear it pronounced

No comments: