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

When it comes to YouTube, though, he’s firmly in the cultural zeitgeist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Do you represent the zeitgeist of the moment or are you wasting everybody’s time?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Garfunkel’s tender folk couldn’t be farther from the chrome-coated zeitgeist of the turn of the last century.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

"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

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