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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

zen.

Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈzɛn/
  1. Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.

    uncountable
  2. An approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.

    uncountable
    the zen of cooking
    the zen of passing the bar exam
Where this word comes from

From Zen. In more general use, popularized by Eugen Herrigel's 1948 Zen in the Art of Archery and Robert M. Pirsig's 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

adj/ˈzɛn/
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Zen: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories.

    alt-of
  2. Wise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable.

    colloquial
Where this word comes from

From Zen. In more general use, popularized by Eugen Herrigel's 1948 Zen in the Art of Archery and Robert M. Pirsig's 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.