Existential boredom is called which term?

• A. Ennui
• B. Nihilism
• C. True Image
• D. Great Twitch Theory

Answer: (A)

Ennui captures the feeling of existential boredom: a deep, wearied sense that life is dull or lacking meaning. It’s more than a simple nuisance; it’s a mood of listlessness and dissatisfaction that can arise when someone confronts the gap between routine or surface reality and deeper purpose. In literature, ennui helps explain characters who drift, feel detached from society, or search for significance in a world that seems indifferent.

Nihilism, while related to existential questions, is about a belief system—that life has no intrinsic meaning or value—whereas ennui names the emotional state itself, not the philosophical stance. The other terms aren’t standard labels for this mood in literary studies, so they don’t fit as well.