nihil
Roman word: nothing
Nihil is Latin for "nothing," appearing in English primarily within Latin phrases and philosophical contexts.
Nihil obstat (nothing stands in the way) is a Catholic Church approval for publication.
Ex nihilo means "out of nothing," as in creation from nothing.
The word underlies nihilism and related terms about the rejection of meaning or value.
Without legal effect
- emptinessAbsence of substance
- vacuumAbsence of matter
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
- nonexistenceAbsence of being
oblivion · nullity · blankness · negation · nonbeing · vacuity · absence · hollowness
Philosophy embracing existence's irrationality
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- futilityLack of purpose
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
Sartre · despair · angst · alienation · purposelessness · existentialism · Kierkegaard · dread
Denial or cancellation
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- rejectionDenial of acceptance
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
metaphysics · ontology · deconstruction · Derrida · postmodernism · anti-foundationalism · relativism · solipsism
Total destruction or erasure
- eradicationTotal elimination of something
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- dissolutionBreaking up completely
- disintegrationProcess of breaking apart
ruination · decimation · extermination · elimination · devastation · vanishing · erasure · undoing
void
Without legal effect
nonexistence · oblivion · nullity · blankness · negation · nonbeing · vacuity · absence · hollowness · zero
absurdism
Philosophy embracing existence's irrationality
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- futilityLack of purpose
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
Camus · Sartre · despair · angst · alienation · purposelessness · existentialism · Kierkegaard · dread · pessimism
negation
Denial or cancellation
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- rejectionDenial of acceptance
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
epistemology · metaphysics · ontology · deconstruction · Derrida · postmodernism · anti-foundationalism · relativism · solipsism · via negativa
obliteration
Total destruction or erasure
- eradicationTotal elimination of something
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- dissolutionBreaking up completely
disintegration · ruination · decimation · extermination · elimination · devastation · vanishing · erasure · undoing · abolition