'anti-nihilistic' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') with 'nihilistic' (derived from Latin 'nihil' meaning 'nothing', via 19th-century French 'nihilisme').

'nihilism' was borrowed into English from French 'nihilisme' in the 19th century, itself from Latin 'nihil' ('nothing'); the Greek prefix 'anti-' was later attached to the adjective 'nihilistic' in Modern English to create 'anti-nihilistic', describing opposition to nihilism.

Originally the parts meant 'against' + 'nothing'; over time the combined form came to mean 'opposed to the philosophical position of nihilism' rather than a literal opposition to 'nothing.'