as in cynical
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Recent Examples of nihilistic
Margo’s Got Money Troubles premiered the same week as the third season of HBO’s nihilistic teen drama Euphoria, in which Sydney Sweeney’s dead-eyed Cassie has taken to the popular subscription service, dressing up as a seductive puppy and even a pacifier-sucking baby.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
This nihilistic perspective has been a ubiquitous point of departure for prestige television at least since the first season of Succession.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
The senior attending physician’s behavior has worried many in the hospital as he's appeared more nihilistic and short-tempered than usual.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
But a 2021 set at a notorious homeless encampment in Oakland earned backlash from advocates, who said the band was taking advantage of desperate people to throw aesthetically nihilistic punk shows.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In Say Nothing, published in 2019, Keefe effectively solves a decades-old cold case of a missing mother of 10 in Belfast, a killing that illustrates the nihilistic violence and human toll of the Troubles.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Lumalee, the nihilistic Luma from the first movie, makes her first appearance in the sequel here as their personal prison guard.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
The nihilistic Duke is soon recruited by Nazi Germany to crash the British economy through the distribution of counterfeit currency and effectively decide World War II for the German Reich.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Mar. 2026
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
This nihilistic perspective has been a ubiquitous point of departure for prestige television at least since the first season of Succession.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
The senior attending physician’s behavior has worried many in the hospital as he's appeared more nihilistic and short-tempered than usual.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
But a 2021 set at a notorious homeless encampment in Oakland earned backlash from advocates, who said the band was taking advantage of desperate people to throw aesthetically nihilistic punk shows.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In Say Nothing, published in 2019, Keefe effectively solves a decades-old cold case of a missing mother of 10 in Belfast, a killing that illustrates the nihilistic violence and human toll of the Troubles.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Lumalee, the nihilistic Luma from the first movie, makes her first appearance in the sequel here as their personal prison guard.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
The nihilistic Duke is soon recruited by Nazi Germany to crash the British economy through the distribution of counterfeit currency and effectively decide World War II for the German Reich.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilistic
Adjective
-
Senate Bill 6-D, one of the cynical subjects of this special session, would have further weakened Florida’s childhood vaccination rates, which have already sunk too low.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Both Angela Ingersoll, who played the ever-hopeful Sally, and Michelle Duffy, as the cynical realist Phyllis, pulsed with vivacious energy, playing across from Rapp’s sardonic take on wound-tight Ben and Wallem’s deeply sad exploration of Buddy.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Beats that might once have been framed through a hazy, absurdist lens now play as something much more fatalistic and frightening.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Apr. 2026
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Most people have a very fatalistic view of their age.—
Erin Allday,
San Francisco Chronicle,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Shooter left notes, symbols, nihilist writings Investigators located the scene where the suspect sparked the fire to set his ambush.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2026
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Blood Meridian throws out the Western trope of good versus evil in favor of a nihilist view of a world consumed by violence.—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And work, as this alternately breezy and quite pessimistic crowdpleaser is quick to remind us, isn’t to be taken for granted.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
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Horowitz, for his part, is not pessimistic about where this lands.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nihilistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilistic. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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