'anti-nihilism' originates from Modern English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek anti- meaning 'against, opposite') and the noun 'nihilism' (from Latin 'nihil' meaning 'nothing', via 19th-century German 'Nihilismus' and English 'nihilism').

The element 'nihilism' comes from Latin 'nihil' ('nothing'), which influenced German 'Nihilismus' in the 19th century; English adopted 'nihilism' from these uses. The prefix 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti-', passed into Latin and then into Modern English; combining them produced 'anti-nihilism' as a Modern English compound.

Initially, 'nihilism' named a philosophical doctrine about 'nothingness'; 'anti-nihilism' therefore originally meant 'against that doctrine.' Over time its use broadened to describe cultural, political, or moral opposition to attitudes of meaninglessness or destructive negation.