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
Jeffrey Simpson Examples of modernism in a Sentence
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Merging traditional African techniques with Western art principles One artist who is credited with pioneering Nigerian modernism is the sculptor and painter Ben Enwonwu.
—Suyin Haynes, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Presented in Lightness & Tension, an exhibition curated by roving gallerist Ulysses de Santi, Simões’s work is rooted in material exploration, as seen in the Sleeper chair, a curving steel form that suggests Brazilian midcentury modernism.
—Rachel Gallaher, Robb Report, 4 Oct. 2025
There’s always been an underpinning of organic modernism and neo primitivism in their work that is a great pairing with the Loewe DNA.
—Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
Gertrude set out to generate the same kind of shock—modernism’s disruption of form and perspective—by using words to compose a fractured picture.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
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Suyin Haynes, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Presented in Lightness & Tension, an exhibition curated by roving gallerist Ulysses de Santi, Simões’s work is rooted in material exploration, as seen in the Sleeper chair, a curving steel form that suggests Brazilian midcentury modernism.
—Rachel Gallaher, Robb Report, 4 Oct. 2025
There’s always been an underpinning of organic modernism and neo primitivism in their work that is a great pairing with the Loewe DNA.
—Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
Gertrude set out to generate the same kind of shock—modernism’s disruption of form and perspective—by using words to compose a fractured picture.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for modernism
Cite this Entry
“Modernism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modernism. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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