minimalism

noun

min·​i·​mal·​ism ˈmi-nə-mə-ˌli-zəm 

1

: a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity

2

: minimal art

Did you know?

In the 1960s, a few composers, including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and John Adams, began writing music inspired by the music of India and Southeast Asia, often with a quick pulsing beat and chords that are repeated quickly over and over while small changes are slowly introduced. Minimalist art, which began appearing around the same time, tries to strip away all personal elements, often leaving only pure geometric forms; you may have seen the plain silver boxes of Donald Judd, or the straight neon tubes of Bruce Nauman. In literature, the stripped-down fiction of Samuel Beckett and Raymond Carver is often considered minimalist. But there's a real question whether these various types of minimalism should even be considered the same concept.

Examples of minimalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bar world has been vacillating between maximalism and minimalism over the last few years. —Scott Hocker, theweek, 4 Dec. 2024

Virgo: Charlie Chaplin Virgo, with their meticulous eye for detail and love for minimalism, finds the perfect fit in Blake Lively’s DIY take on a black-and-white film character like Charlie Chaplin. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024

The best part is that Lloyd — previously Tony-nominated for similarly sparse revivals of Betrayal and A Doll’s House — knows how to make minimalism fun, to even turn it into camp. —Kathryn Vandervalk, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024

Effortless minimalism with a backbone, sophistication without the jazz hands. —Paul Jebara, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1