zeitgeist
noun
ˈzīt-
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Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all others. In German, such a spirit is known as Zeitgeist, from the German words Zeit, meaning "time," and Geist, meaning "spirit" or "ghost." (This same Geist, when combined with poltern, meaning "to knock," led to the English word poltergeist referring to a noisy ghost.) It is common nowadays to read about something "tapping into" or "capturing" the zeitgeist, as doing so often entails popularity or profitability in appealing to a great many people, though sometimes the zeitgeist of a particular time and place is only recognized in hindsight, either due to nostalgia or with the benefit of (one hopes) greater wisdom.
Examples of zeitgeist in a Sentence
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The journey feels right for our zappy zeitgeist.
—Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026
Silver’s exceptional volatility in recent days has captured the zeitgeist — with even the likes of Elon Musk drawing attention to the metal’s ferocious rally to all-time highs.
—Jack Ryan, Bloomberg, 29 Dec. 2025
Brigitte Bardot, the French icon who glamorously embodied the postwar pop zeitgeist, has died.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zeitgeist
Cite this Entry
“Zeitgeist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zeitgeist. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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