modernism

noun mod·ern·ism \ ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Definition of modernism

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

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modernist

play \-nist\ noun or adjective

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modernistic

play \ˌmä-dər-ˈnis-tik\ adjective

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Recent Examples of modernism from the Web

Their catenaries hug the curves in Sheree Hovsepian’s photograms, layered with stretches of arced pantyhose in what might be called femme modernism.

— lori waxman, chicagotribune.com, "Abstraction, explained," 31 May 2018
But Roth was too moralistic, too observant at the high altar of modernism, too prissy to get into the funk and gunk of true swingdom.

— james wolcott, Vanities, "The Joy of Reading Philip Roth, Riffer, Rhetorical Flamethrower, Super-Monologuist," 24 May 2018
Literary fiction, under the sign of modernism, became too obsessed with experimentation and wordplay, while journalism, under the imperative of objectivity, adopted an arid view from nowhere.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Tom Wolfe reunited journalism with literature.," 15 May 2018
But the artists who remained grappled with the war and its aftermath, and shaped German modernism.

— BostonGlobe.com, "The Ticket: What’s happening in the local arts world," 27 Apr. 2018
Giving standard hotel models a serious upgrade, these motels are becoming the pinnacle of hospitality’s rise in new-age modernism.

— michaela trimble, GQ, "Take a Detour to the Most Luxurious Motels in America," 18 Jan. 2018
After mid-century modernism’s long reign, some drama is making its way back into interior design—like with the resurgence of statement ceilings and chintz, or the return of colors like green and ochre.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "Fringe Benefits: Why Tassels and Trimmings Are Making an Interior Design Comeback," 25 May 2018
The subtitle is no overstatement: In the early 1920s, first in Paris and then back home in São Paulo, Brazil, this painter really did lay the groundwork for the coming of modernism in Latin America’s most populous nation.

— New York Times, "23 Art Exhibitions to View in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 17 May 2018
The fierce modernism is offset by arresting tableaux.

— The Economist, "George Benjamin’s defence of opera," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'modernism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.