[nir.va.na] n, often cap [Skt nirvana, lit., act of extinguishing, fr. nis- out + vati it blows--more at wind] (1801) 1: the final beatitude that transcends suffering, karma, and samsara and is sought esp. in Buddhism through the extinction of desire and individual consciousness
2. a: a place or state of oblivion to care, pain, or external reality; also: bliss, heaven b: a goal hoped for but apparently unattainable: dream -- nir.van.ic adj