iconoclasm

noun

icon·​o·​clasm ī-ˈkä-nə-ˌkla-zəm How to pronounce iconoclasm (audio)
: the doctrine, practice, or attitude of an iconoclast

Examples of iconoclasm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Fashion’s instinctual reaction to moments like this one is to retract and revert to the tried-and-true, and few of Owens’s peers have his instincts for iconoclasm. José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 25 Jan. 2024 Missing masterpieces For as long as humans have been making art, natural disasters, the ravages of time, theft and iconoclasm have threatened their creations’ survival. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023 But a mixture of iconoclasm, old-fashioned authority, and a willingness to express ambivalence, even at the risk of annoying people, has been part of her appeal from the start. Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023 The duo’s iconoclasm lives on in the storytelling approaches of Frank Ocean or Kendrick Lamar, the attitude and flamboyance of Tyler, the Creator; Lil Yachty; or Teezo Touchdown. Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023 Although visually very different, the show’s best work shares a free-wheeling iconoclasm with major Ferus artists like Ed Ruscha and Robert Irwin. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023 For your weekend Going out 🎬 ‘The Storms of Jeremy Thomas’ captures a film producer’s iconoclasm. Helen Li, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2023 Scholars have tried to place the centuries-old acts of iconoclasm in a broader context. Supriya Gandhi, Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2020 Hindu nationalists exaggerate these instances of iconoclasm and identify contemporary Muslims, who are an economically weak and socially disadvantaged minority, with rulers from the distant past, portraying them as oppressors and deserving of retribution. Supriya Gandhi, Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'iconoclasm.' 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

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of iconoclasm was in 1797

Dictionary Entries Near iconoclasm

Cite this Entry

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

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