noun
nihilism
Philosophical term referring to the rejection of established beliefs, values, and meaning.
彼は虚無主義に傾倒している。
He is drawn to nihilism.
虚無主義は19世紀のロシア文学でよく扱われた。
Nihilism was often dealt with in 19th-century Russian literature.
Katakana loanword for nihilism, often used in the same philosophical context. 虚無主義 is the native Japanese term.
Compound of 虚無 (kyomu, 'nothingness') and 主義 (shugi, 'principle, -ism'). The term was coined in Japanese as a translation of the Western philosophical concept of nihilism.