Kevin
January 5, 2022
Common Questions
Some words are fun to say or interesting to hear, even if you don’t know what they mean.
Learning the pronunciation and meaning of new words enriches our vocabulary. A fun word to start with can be found at the end of the alphabet. This guide will teach you all about the word zeitgeist.
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According to the English dictionary, zeitgeist is a noun. Zeitgeist’s definition is the general beliefs, spirit, or ideas from a particular time and place. It is pronounced as zeit-geist.
An example of the word zeitgeist could be, “Many felt the Bee Gees captured the zeitgeist of the 70s in song.”
Another definition found in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language describes zeitgeist as the spirit of the time or the taste and outlook of a period or a generation.
The zeitgeist can refer to the general climates of an era’s intellect, morality, and culture.
Zeitgeist is a German word from the mid-nineteenth century that comes from German philosophy. Zeitgeist is formed from two other German words.
Put together, the words would mean “time spirit.” Essentially zeitgeist means an age’s spirit characteristics.
The term geist may sound familiar to you if you have seen or heard the word poltergeist. Poltergeist is the German word for a supernatural being or ghost. For most Americans, the word is familiar because of the 1982 movie Poltergeist about a haunted suburban home.
The term zeit may be less familiar. It relates to the Middle High German zit, which means quote. This relates to the Old High German dā, an Indo-European word for “there.”
German philosophers of the 18th and 19th centuries helped popularize the term zeitgeist and the concept of the spirit of a time. Some of the contributors included:
When you think about trying to describe the spirit of a time, it may be hard to find words that fully express the zeitgeist of a particular era. We often turn to examples, and the arts are always a good place to start.
When referring to a singer’s music, an artist’s paintings, or other expressive pieces that capture the spirit of the period they were created, you might use the term zeitgeist.
Throughout world history, the temper of the times has been the zeitgeist of each generation. It can also refer to the taste and preferences of an era. For example, the 1950s in America had a zeitgeist that centered around more conservative values.
This is reflected in the last language change to the Pledge of Allegiance to add “under God” after “one nation” in a congressional act passed in 1954.
Zeitgeist can refer to a given period’s general outlook or particular characteristics. For example, you might say periods like the Great Depression or the Covid-19 pandemic lead to a stoic zeitgeist for an entire generation.
The Great Man Theory of the 19th century by Thomas Carlyle states that history can be mostly explained by the impact of great men (and women) or heroes of the time. In other words, the result of heroes’ actions can shape the general trend of thoughts or characteristics of a particular time. One person or event can be an invisible agent that determines the zeitgeist of an era.
An example of the Great Man Theory is the Greatest Generation. It’s hard to imagine a generation that could match their spirit, but it seems that the people of that generation would never have described their zeitgeist in that way. Perhaps, retrospect is the only way to truly describe the spirit of a time or period.
You can get a sense of the zeitgeist of the current era when you browse Twitter, listen to popular music on Spotify, or find the trending topics of podcasters. The events that happen to you as you go through life are the foundation for the architecture of your generation’s zeitgeist.
Synonyms give us related words to express the intended meaning of a particular word. Here are some zeitgeist synonyms:
Antonyms are a valuable tool for helping us to say the opposite of a particular word’s meaning. Here are some antonyms for the word zeitgeist:
Here are examples of how to use zeitgeist in a sentence:
How would you describe your generation’s zeitgeist? As you move through the world, see how this new word shapes your understanding of the stimuli around them and how you view the period in which you live.
