Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Buddhism The ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
- n. Hinduism Emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.
- n. An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In Buddhism, the condition of a Buddha; the state to which the Buddhist saint is to aspire as the highest aim and highest good. Originally, doubtless, this was extinction of existence, Buddha's attempt being to show the way of escape from the miseries inseparably attached to life, and especially to life everlastingly renewed by transmigration, as held in India. But in later times this negation has naturally taken on other forms, and is explained as extinction of desire, passion, unrest, etc.
Wiktionary
- n. Buddhism complete cessation of suffering; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.
- n. state of paradise; heightened or great pleasure.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. In the Buddhist system of religion, the final emancipation of the soul from transmigration, and consequently a beatific enfrachisement from the evils of worldly existence, as by annihilation or absorption into the divine. See Buddhism.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness
- n. any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
Etymologies
- Sanskrit निर्वाण (nir-vāṇa, "blown or put out, extinguished") (Wiktionary)
- Sanskrit nirvāṇam, a blowing out, extinction, nirvana : nis-, nir-, out, away + vāti, it blows; see wē- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“What makes it worth it here, in what A Geography of Oysters author Rowan Jacobsen calls Washington's "oyster nirvana," is the belief that these waters, and these skilled farmers, have something singular to offer shellfish gourmets.”
“I later became a news producer, justifying my super nerdy television viewing habits and was in nirvana surrounded by the chaos of the control room.”
“Only 36 percent knew that nirvana is a state of being free from suffering and is an aim of Buddhism.”
“Maybe we should make the word nirvana into a verb itself: "When there is no you in connection with that, you nirvana.”
“Because here the non-attainment of nirvana is not a punishment -- it's a natural consequence.”
“That said, the nirvana is really to pull together my Writely documents, Zoho spreadsheets plus my Trumba calendar appointments, Gmail emails, etc.”
“The terms nirvana with residue and nirvana without residue do not apply to Buddhas.”
“Nevertheless there has been much controversy regarding the meaning of the terms nirvana; samadhi; dai zikaku, etc. -- words expressing the condition which we are considering under the phrase cosmic consciousness.”
“Yet, while all these things afflicted the nations of the West, and seemed to foreshadow the decline or destruction of the human species, the wild mountains of Northern India, now overrun by savages more fierce than those who sacked Rome, were occupied by a placid people, thriving, industrious, and intelligent; devoting their lives to the attainment of that serene annihilation which the word nirvana expresses.”
The Story of the Malakand Field Force An Episode of Frontier War
“Not only does it rhyme with nirvana, it's also a Sanskrit word for a yoga posture to”
WN.com - Articles related to Shoes for yoga: Vibram Five Fingers
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘nirvana’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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Band or Brand?
Band names that are also common words or phrases.
genesis, who, beatles, journey, germs, sublime, doors, cars, nirvana, bangles, tool, pixies and 192 more...
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N
letters starting with n
nadir, naive, narcissist, nascent, natation, natty, nauseate, nautical, nebulous, necromancy, nefarious, negate and 24 more...
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Words for Haikus
Getting the Perfect Word for 5-7-5.
inevitable, serendipity, marvellous, expectations, aspirations, peculiar, zephyr, hubris, surreptitious, pennyroyal, quizzical, kaleidoscope and 19 more...
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MuffinBurns's list
Words to dreams
rapture, cove, tingling, pahutakawa, pang, khop kun kop, hella, boffo, nirvana, flood, synchronicity, sysiphus and 9 more...
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October Words-10033
During the month of October, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has a...
bedel, nirvana, colloquialisms, Porcine, proletariat, Xanadu, decorous, bourgeois, unencumbered, gratis, cosseted, Brank and 30 more...
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Wordplay
reticent, slammerkin, moonstruck, zephyr, gallivant, hullabaloo, pandemonium, equestrian, wallflower, martyr, threadbare, treacherous and 180 more...
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kimo2000's Words
pakalolo, miliated, voodoo, vindaloo, hacienda, acquiesce, addlepated, olio, akimbo, apropos, oogenesis, arugula and 181 more...
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Barron's 1100 words you need to know ...
ascetic, bona fide, decadence, destitution, desultory, disciple, fulsome, indoctrinate, lush, materialism, metamorphosis, nirvana and 8 more...
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Revised GRE Wordlist_2013
Vocabulary building for my quest of GRE 2013
ephemeral, esoteric, rhetoric, censure, egregious, pittance, dupe, mulct, paucity, alacrity, maintain, laconic and 997 more...
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junemoonchild's Favorite Words
Aubrey, astrology, Cancer, Taurus, dybbuk, enchantress, love, mystery, mysteriarch, spirit, melancholy, disintegration and 129 more...
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monica's list
just words i think are pretty.
luminous, iridescent, crestfallen, wanderlust, autumn, autumnal, spark, candescence, exaltations, merry, empathy, tainted and 96 more...
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states of mind: from absurdistan to zion
Countries, lands, cities that capture, or haunt, our dreams. Some of the places listed might be the names of actual localities, but here they are states of mind.
absurdistan, banana republic, utopia, mitteleuropa, new jerusalem, deseret, canaan, zion, ruritania, outer slobovia, lower slobovia, avalon and 126 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for nirvana.
sherry28 "...she will be granted a glimpse of nirvana ." From: all we ever wanted was everything . Author Janelle Brown . Page: 211 Oct 16, 2010