1. total rejection of social mores: the general rejection of established social conventions and beliefs, especially of morality and religion
2. belief that nothing is worthwhile: a belief that life is pointless and human values are worthless
3. disbelief in objective truth: the belief that there is no objective basis for truth
4. belief in destruction of authority: the belief that all established authority is corrupt and must be destroyed in order to rebuild a just society
5. Russian political movement: a political movement in late 19th-century Russia that sought to bring about a socially just new society by destroying the existing one through acts of terrorism and assassination
[Early 19th century. < German Nihilismus< Latin nihil "nothing"]
