modernity

noun

mo·​der·​ni·​ty mə-ˈdər-nə-tē 

mä-,

-ˈder- 

1

: the quality or state of being or appearing to be modern

Such details as street lamps, telephone booths, mailboxes and manhole covers have been expensively recreated to recall a past that makes even young Hungarians nostalgic and Western tourists regret the flashy modernity of their cities.

—Henry Kamm

His early work portrayed the idiosyncratic behavior of his zany upper-class family whose wealth and quest for modernity impelled them to try out all the latest inventions and devices of the time, from electric razors to automobiles to flying machines.

—Naomi Rosenblum

2

: the modern era or world and especially the ideas and attitudes associated with the modern world

For all his conservatism, Henry Adams's encounter with modernity led neither to romantic antiquarianism … nor to an intensified commitment to those very liberal arts that were under siege in a market society.

—Peter N. Miller

Examples of modernity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dufour emphasized how the design integrates asymmetrical modernity with the symmetry of historic structures. —Rachel King, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

Fairchild Studio: How does the expansion in the range of Ray-Ban Meta glasses to include the Skyler and the Headliner Low-Bridge Fit merge modernity with Ray-Ban’s classical aesthetic? —Fairchild Studio, WWD, 18 Sep. 2024

There’s a contrast in the film’s modernity and its focus often on a more traditional world. —John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024

This advance catapulted the country into modernity. —Ruth D. Nelson / Made By History, TIME, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1