Definition of: nihilism

(nī′əl·iz′əm, ni′hil-) noun
1. The doctrine that nothing exists or can be known; also, the rejection of religious and moral creeds, known as ethical nihilism.
2. A political doctrine holding that the existing structure of society should be destroyed; specifically, a movement in Russia in the 19th century advocating the overthrow of the social order and many revolutionary reforms, resulting in violence and terrorism.
3. Loosely, any revolutionary propaganda involving violence.
—ni′hil·ist noun
—ni′hil·is′tic adjective