ˌä-ˌvän(t)-ˈgärd 
ˌa-;
ə-ˈvänt-ˌgärd;
ˌa-ˌvōⁿ-ˈgärd,
ˌa-ˌvȯn(t)-ˈgärd
: an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts
the avant-garde in the film industry
: of or relating to an avant-garde
avant-garde writers
an avant-garde filmmaker
Examples of avant-garde in a Sentence
Noun
to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone
Adjective
a very avant-garde artist whose works wouldn't even be considered art by many traditionalists
Recent Examples on the Web
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Tezuka 100th Anniversary Project The Book of Human Insects, directed by Ken Ninomiya, celebrating one of most avant-garde works of the ‘God of Manga’ Osamu Tezuka.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 17 May 2026
Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
In the mid-'60s, Rollins toured heavily in Europe, switching back and forth between more traditional and avant-garde approaches.
—CBS News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
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Noun
The show, which featured a sizzling performance by Walton Goggins, as an authoritarian vigilante, was an avant-garde breakthrough for television.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
Tezuka 100th Anniversary Project The Book of Human Insects, directed by Ken Ninomiya, celebrating one of most avant-garde works of the ‘God of Manga’ Osamu Tezuka.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 17 May 2026
Adjective
The fact that this description calls forth the spirit of a Situationist dérive should serve as a reminder that in all this there is overlap not just with sixties counterculture broadly speaking, but rather more specifically with its avant-garde, in California groups such as the Diggers.
—Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
In the mid-'60s, Rollins toured heavily in Europe, switching back and forth between more traditional and avant-garde approaches.
—CBS News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Cite this Entry
“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avant-garde. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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