Nihilism is one of those words you have to read an entire book to understand, and most people don't have the patience to do that so, if you think about it, Nihilism in its popularly used context means nothing, it's just thrown around when someone's perspective seems too... I don't know, cynical? But it seems to me that it has been turned into a word just used to discredit a person (e.g. "You're a nihilist, no one cares what you think") without anyone ever actually knowing what it means. And that includes me. It seems to me that Nihilism means that nothing matters, but that seems like a drastic oversimplification, and I don't know what the point of this topic even is.

Life is given meaning and placed on a pedestal by theists because they claim it is a gift from 'god'. Once you remove that notion from your understanding of life (biological life, not all of existence), you basically automatically become a nihilist, in that we create our own value for life in our actions and thoughts.

Reconstructo has provided an excellent summary from a literary and cultural viewpoint. Personally, I think it is an affliction, and a very common one at that. Even if it does not stand for 'nothing means anything' it is very, very close. And many people feel like that in the modern world. I associate it with anti-spirituality and hyper-individualism. So really I support the 'first philosophical usage' noted in the post above.

absolutely! Hit the nail on the head (not that it means anything and that anyone gives a f***)

Nihilism is one of those words you have to read an entire book to understand, and most people don't have the patience to do that so, if you think about it, Nihilism in its popularly used context means nothing, it's just thrown around when someone's perspective seems too... I don't know, cynical? But it seems to me that it has been turned into a word just used to discredit a person (e.g. "You're a nihilist, no one cares what you think") without anyone ever actually knowing what it means. And that includes me. It seems to me that Nihilism means that nothing matters, but that seems like a drastic oversimplification, and I don't know what the point of this topic even is.

Turgenev's nihilist Bazarov was a believer in science and progress. He did not believe in nothing. He believed that the old ways of tradition and religion were nothing. Bazarov believed that the old ways must be swept away to make way for the new. Fathers and Son's is a novel about the generation gap in 19th century Russia. Turgenev painted Bazarov as a tragic and ultimately self-destructive figure. Bazarov is frightening in many respects but there is also something admirable about him as is the case with all tragic heroes. Turgenev's novel is very nuanced and not merely a piece of anti-nihilist propaganda.

What you have just described here is Existentialism(See, Jean-Paul Sartre), not Nihilism. Nihilism does not place value on anything, period.

There are also many atheists who believe there is at least objective morality if not an objective meaning to life, atheistic Kantians for example. Yeah though, your definition is away off.

People are put off by Nihilism and generally view it as a bad thing because if one is a Nihilist, one is not allowed to make even the simplest, most intuitive moral claims, such as 'The holocaust was bad'.

Here's a little background on a term that is for me no longer useful.

Though the term nihilism was first popularized by the novelist Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883) in his novel Fathers and Sons,[6] it was first introduced into philosophical discourse by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743-1819). Jacobi used the term to characterize rationalism[7], and in particular Immanuel Kant's "critical" philosophy in order to carry out a reductio ad absurdum according to which all rationalism (philosophy as criticism) reduces to nihilism, and thus it should be avoided and replaced with a return to some type of faith and revelation. Bret W. Davis writes, for example, "The first philosophical development of the idea of nihilism is generally ascribed to Friedrich Jacobi, who in a famous letter criticized Fichte's idealism as falling into nihilism. According to Jacobi, Fichte's absolutization of the ego (the 'absolute I' that posits the 'not-I') is an inflation of subjectivity that denies the absolute transcendence of God."[8] A related concept is fideism.
With the popularizing of the word nihilism by Turgenev, a new Russian political movement called the Nihilism movement adopted the term. They supposedly called themselves nihilists because nothing "that then existed found favor in their eyes."[9]

Turgenev's nihilist Bazarov was a believer in science and progress. He did not believe in nothing. He believed that the old ways of tradition and religion were nothing. Bazarov believed that the old ways must be swept away to make way for the new. Fathers and Son's is a novel about the generation gap in 19th century Russia. Turgenev painted Bazarov as a tragic and ultimately self-destructive figure. Bazarov is frightening in many respects but there is also something admirable about him as is the case with all tragic heroes. Turgenev's novel is very nuanced and not merely a piece of anti-nihilist propaganda.

Nihilism was a political and cultural stance among some of the young Russian intelligencia. Some of them engaged in revolutionary violence such as bombings and assassinations. "Nihilism" began as a term of derision and (as often happens with such terms) some of these young people ended embracing the term as a badge of honor as Bazarov did. Something of this sort: "If you call those who want to overthrow the old corrupt and debunked traditions and political dogmas a 'nihilist' then Yes! I am a nihilist!" It was a statement of defiance against the old order.

The coolest thing about the nihilists was what they wore. I don't know where the costume came from but they wore tartans (Scottish plaid), long beards, boots, and blue sunglasses and they often carried around huge walking sticks. I'm not making this up. Basically, it's the best Halloween costume ever!

There are other definitions of nihilism of course including black turtle necked sprockets of the Big Lebowski but when I hear the word I always imagine the 19th century Russians. That said, I'm not at all sympathetic to that cause, quite the opposite.

Also, the original coinage of the word "nihilism" is usually traced back to Jacobi, a defender of Faith, in a polemic against Kant's new philosophical system.

How can a person have no beliefs? That doesn't even make sense.
I don't think any nihilists exist according to that definition...

I think Nihilism and Determinism go hand in hand. Because we are each set on a trajectory through life at the moment of birth and there is no way for us to change this original point of departure (which is basically everything you are) that where you end up in the future is largely out of your control and the aspects that you can control you can't predict how they will affect you (for example, the way different people affect you cannot be understood) so there is no point in trying to plan out the future because it is simply impossible except in very superficial ways (your job). So, I think accepting that nothing you do matters enables you to tear down the delusion of control and see through to the mechanisms of determinism and when you are more aware about how life really is largely out of your control you can better see the pattern and how it is likely to play out and that will help you stay on your heels and simply go with the flow.