nihilistic delusion /nī′hilis″tik/ [L, nihil, nothing, icus, form of, deludere, to deceive] , a persistent denial of the existence of particular things or of everything, including oneself, as seen in various forms of schizophrenia. A person who has such a delusion may believe that he or she lives in a shadow or limbo world or that he or she died several years ago and that only the spirit, in a vaporous form, really exists. See also delusion.
