modernism

noun

mod·​ern·​ism ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm 

1

: a practice, usage, or expression peculiar to modern times

such modernisms as "blog," "bromance," and "steampunk"

2

often capitalized : a tendency in theology to accommodate traditional religious teaching to contemporary thought and especially to devalue supernatural elements

3

: modern artistic or literary philosophy and practice

especially : a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression

extols the … modernism that laid the foundation of all twentieth-century design

—Jeffrey Simpson

modernist

ˈmä-dər-nist 

noun or adjective

modernistic

ˌmä-dər-ˈni-stik 

adjective

Examples of modernism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The result is one that combines excellence, modernism, and tradition. —Stéphane Jg Girod, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024

Stella’s tautological compositions shrugged off the categories of invention and aesthetic judgment that Fried hoped modernism would preserve. —Sarah K. Rich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2024

New building projects required the fascist architectural agenda to balance history with modernism. —Ashley Gardini, JSTOR Daily, 6 June 2023

On the left, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) represents a secularist Kemalist modernism. —Selim Koru, Foreign Affairs, 28 June 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing modernism

• hyper-modernism

Kids Definition

modernism

noun

mod·​ern·​ism ˈmäd-ər-ˌniz-əm 

: a modern custom, expression, style, or idea

modernist

-nəst 

noun or adjective

modernistic

ˌmäd-ər-ˈnis-tik 

adjective