zeitgeist

[tsahyt-, zahyt-gahyst] / ˈtsaɪt-, ˈzaɪtˌgaɪst /

NOUN

spirit of the time

Synonyms

STRONG

climate outlook spirit trend

WEAK

ambience atmosphere disposition feeling flavor inclination leaning milieu movement tendency tenor tone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

zeitgeist

"It's not an exciting place to shop, or what it used to be for kids around Christmas. Under a new ownership you'd hope they could get it back into the zeitgeist."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

“It’s about having the Chipmunks really playing into the zeitgeist and trying to live in real time with pop culture,” Robbins said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

When betting on the artificial-intelligence trade outpaces gains in the world’s biggest digital currency by more than 200%, you know you’re witnessing a sea change in the global investment zeitgeist.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

But growing up, it definitely wasn’t in my cultural zeitgeist, whatever you want to call it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

So Sophy left off trying to understand clearly all the "ologies" and fly-wheel within fly-wheel movements of the day, and contented herself with a general apprehension of the zeitgeist.

From Shadows of Flames A Novel by Amélie Rives