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.

That’s a far cry from the $162-million opening haul of “Barbie,” but box-office analysts say that film captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that’s hard to replicate.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 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

The prose will be aimed less at the high-falutin readers of literary magazines and more at young people with an interest in the cultural zeitgeist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

But for 30 years we did our best to make him part of L.A.’s artistic zeitgeist.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

People all over the world who are really secret agents for some other time zone, some other way of looking at the world, some other zeitgeist.

From Eastern Standard Tribe by Doctorow, Cory