anicca means impermanence, the doctrine claiming that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient. One of the three marks of existence. It carries an Arena rating of 1738, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, anicca ranks #383 of 13,217 for Scariest Words, #497 of 13,217 for Most Elegant Words, #881 of 13,217 for Most Sublime Words, #2,120 of 13,217 for Most Incisive Words.
Why “anicca” is a great word
The fundamental and universal condition of all phenomena: that everything composed of parts, everything conditioned, is in a constant state of flux and decay. Its root is the Sanskrit anitya, from a- (“not”) + nitya (“eternal”), a negation of permanence carved into the heart of the word itself. Unlike nitya, the eternal stillness it directly denies, or dukkha, the suffering born from resisting its truth, anicca is the simple, unadorned fact of ceaseless change. It is the blossom wilting on the branch even as it opens, the fresh paint fading on the shrine, and the clear mountain stream that is never the same stream from one moment to the next—the silent, patient teacher in every fleeting thing.
Etymology
Transliteration of Pali anicca.
noun
- Impermanence, the doctrine claiming that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient. One of the three marks of existence.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- anitya 93% match — Synonym of anicca. vs anicca →
- dukkha 90% match — The three main types of pain, suffering, or stress: physical and mental, impermanence, and conditioned states. One of the three marks of existence. vs anicca →
- anatta 90% match — The idea that there is no separate self or soul; egolessness. One of the three marks of existence. vs anicca →
- impermanence 89% match — Lack of permanence or continued duration. vs anicca →
- vipassana 86% match — Insight into the true nature of reality, namely as the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering or unsatisfactoriness, and the realisation of nonself. vs anicca →
- anatman 86% match — The doctrine that there is no transcendental ego or soul and the perceived true self is an illusion. It corresponds to the Hinayana or Theravada Buddhist doctrine of anatta. vs anicca →
- dhamma 84% match — The teachings of Buddha. vs anicca →
- nirvana 84% match — Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience. vs anicca →