"zen" meaning in English

See zen in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Audio: en-us-zen.ogg [US] Forms: more zen [comparative], most zen [superlative]
Rhymes: -ɛn Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{m|en|Zen}} Zen Head templates: {{en-adj}} zen (comparative more zen, superlative most zen)
  1. (religion) Alternative letter-case form of Zen: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories. Tags: alt-of Alternative form of: Zen (extra: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories) Categories (topical): Religion, Buddhism
    Sense id: en-zen-en-adj-Zn3dYQCC Disambiguation of Buddhism: 84 7 7 2 Topics: lifestyle, religion
  2. (colloquial) Wise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable. Tags: colloquial
    Sense id: en-zen-en-adj-JI1vBXdF
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: Zen

Noun

Audio: en-us-zen.ogg [US]
Rhymes: -ɛn Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{m|en|Zen}} Zen Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} zen (uncountable)
  1. (religion) Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Religion Synonyms: enlightenment [synonym, synonym-of], particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation [synonym, synonym-of]
    Sense id: en-zen-en-noun-qoZCLM7c Topics: lifestyle, religion
  2. An approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Education Synonyms (a simple & intuitive method reflecting supposed Eastern wisdom): tao
    Sense id: en-zen-en-noun-FAKx2ibb Disambiguation of Education: 17 6 0 77 Disambiguation of 'a simple & intuitive method reflecting supposed Eastern wisdom': 27 73
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: Zen

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for zen meaning in English (6.0kB)

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-03-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-03-01 using wiktextract (68773ab and 5f6ddbb). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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