modernism

noun

mod·​ern·​ism ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce modernism (audio)
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 noun or adjective
modernistic adjective

Examples of modernism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But that alienation—the flip side of modernism—is missing from Murrell’s take on the Harlem Renaissance. Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Today, studios are looking to expand on that legacy while continuing to push the definition of desert modernism in the Coachella Valley. Antonina Jedrzejczak, Robb Report, 21 Jan. 2024 In the early Soviet Union, there was a great blossoming of all kinds of culture, not necessarily in the Russian language or specific to Russia—Ukrainian modernism, for instance. Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2024 Her downbeat side has been too much stressed, maybe due to a general tendency among writers to valorize the darker byways of modernism. Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Its deliberate use of local wood, warm tones, and festive plaids emits a chalet-style warmth rather than stoic modernism. Monica Mendal, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024 But in terms of the tree of art history, of modernism, Hopper’s line really doesn’t go anywhere. John Anderson, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023 Paint Color Trends to Say Goodbye to in 2024 Goodbye Swinging '60s, Hello '70s Boho Midcentury modernism of the post-war era has dominated interior trends and furniture design for years. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Jan. 2024 Their focus, post-Enlightenment, was on universalism and modernism, and moving out of the ghettos — literal and intellectual — into which Jews had been forced. Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'modernism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of modernism was in 1737

Dictionary Entries Near modernism

Cite this Entry

“Modernism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modernism. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

modernism

noun
mod·​ern·​ism ˈmäd-ər-ˌniz-əm How to pronounce modernism (audio)
: a modern custom, expression, style, or idea
modernist noun or adjective
modernistic adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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