nihilism, nihilist - vocabulary

noun

Nihilism: the total rejection of laws and institutions; nihilism is marked by terrorism, anarchy, and other revolutionary activity. In philosophy, nihilism is an extreme form of skepticism, the denial of all existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.

noun

Nihilist: an advocate of nihilism.

But in conversations along the streets of Jordan's 10 camps, the Palestinians tell a story, however anecdotal, of a landscape where secular politics has withered, Islamic activism is ascendant and, perhaps more important, a sense of dejection, even nihilism, is rising, with uncertain consequences.

—Anthony Shadid “In Jordanian Camps, A Sense of Nihilism” Washington Post, April 7, 2007