Nihilistic

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(pronounced ny-uh-lis-tik or nee-uh-lis-tik)  adjective

Definition

from the noun nihilism.
Nihilism (pronounced ny-uh-liz-um or nee-uh-liz-um) 1. (philosophy) an extreme skepticism that rejects traditional--moral or religious—principles in the belief that all existence and values are meaningless or purposeless. 2. the complete nonexistence of values, principles, beliefs, etc. resulting in an attitude of persistent pessimism, distrust, apathy, or cynicism. 3. any violent revolutionary activity resorting to anarchy, terrorism, and assassination and seemingly without any positive or worthwhile goals. 4. (cap) the 19th century movement in Russia which advocated anarchy and terrorism to bring about revolutionary reform in the social order.

Main Example

• The stabbing death of 22-year-old Celia Barquin Arozamena is the second such shocking and deeply distressing story involving the wanton murder of a young female athlete that has come out of Iowa in recent weeks. (The two tragedies are unrelated). In the latest of the two gruesome killings, an alienated and nihilistic young man, also 22 and who was living in the woods, inflicted numerous stab wounds to Arozamena’s upper torso, head, and neck while she was practicing alone at a nearby golf course. Reportedly, the killer had told an acquaintance just the previous day of his urge to rape and kill a woman.

Workplace Examples

• The only way you and I can change this organization is to go about it incrementally. If we propose something really revolutionary, such as dissolving or destroying the existing structure in one fell swoop, they’ll outright reject our approach as being a bit too nihilistic. And not only that, we may be branded as nihilists and become pariahs!
• Once Phil has made up his mind, it’s next to impossible to get him to change it because he assumes a nihilistic position. I can offer the most compelling evidence to the contrary but he will simply respond that it is not proof enough, or that what I am saying is not science.

Other Examples

• this author saying during a speech: “I’ll never forget that moment when a woman in her mid-20s, working for an oil giant and aspiring to attend my alma mater--The Kellogg School--visited our Toastmasters club and declined to condemn Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, saying it’s not for her to judge since they too must have been loved by some people. Since that time, I have often wondered if this kind of intellectual slackness and ethical nihilism, and the rejection of moral absolutes, is pervasive among a section of our youth.”
• while reviewing “Outrage” (a 2010 Japanese yakuza film) for “Ebert Presents: At the Movies,” noted film critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky saying: “It was good, clean, nihilistic fun, especially if you like crime movies that are brisk and to the point.”
• during the slugfest for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the Christian Science Monitor reporting: “One senior Republican labels Sen. Ted Cruz a ‘neo-nihilist who tears down rather than builds.’”
• the late singer and songwriter David Bowie, whose songs used to be imbued with nihilism and pessimism but later became positive and optimistic, attributing the change in his tone to the birth of his son
• some brutally violent organizations that frequently make international news because of their sensational terrorist acts and which have been described by American military commanders and politicians alike as nihilists or holding nihilistic beliefs: Boko Haram, al Qaeda, ISIS...

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