nirvana Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness
    enlightenment.
  2. noun any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
    promised land; heaven; Eden; Shangri-la; paradise.

WordNet


Nir*va"na noun
Etymology
Skr. nirva&nsdot;a.
Definitions
  1. In the Buddhist system of religion, the final emancipation of the soul from transmigration, and consequently a beatific enfrachisement from the evils of wordly existence, as by annihilation or absorption into the divine. See Buddhism.

Webster 1913