modernism

noun

mod·ern·ism | \ ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm

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

Other Words from modernism More Example Sentences Learn More about modernism

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Other Words from modernism

modernist \ ˈmä-dər-nist

\ noun or adjective

modernistic \ ˌmä-dər-ˈni-stik

\ adjective

Examples of modernism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

MoMA has covered Le Corbusier ad infinitum, and its 2015 Latin American architecture exhibition delved deeply into the use of modernism (including concrete) to construct new neighborhoods, cities, and universities across Central and South America. — Alexandra Lange, Curbed, "Concrete utopia," 12 July 2018 This is architecture that offers a sequence of events revealed gradually with constantly shifting perspectives, as opposed to classic modernism’s tightly controlled image of architecture as geometric tableau. — Julie V. Iovine, WSJ, "The Best Architecture of 2018: Building for Complex Experiences," 14 Dec. 2018 From Jean Toomer to Marianne Moore, Frank Lloyd Wright to Karlheinz Stockhausen, collage techniques were central to modernism and the avant-garde, a material analogue for the chaotic simultaneity of modern experience. — Michael Robbins, chicagotribune.com, "'John Ashbery: They Knew What They Wanted' celebrates a poet and collagist who understood the value of fun," 9 May 2018 How could a tastemaker who preached the gospel of modernism become a convert to the baubles and trimmings of postmodernism? — Mary Ann Gwinn, The Seattle Times, "A closer look at three National Book Critics Circle finalists," 20 Feb. 2019 Known as a beacon of modernism, his architectural point of view included both the exteriors and interiors of his buildings, maintaining that an architect could also function as an interior designer. — Carisha Swanson, House Beautiful, "The Platner Arm Chair Will Add Instant Mid-Century Sophistication to Your Home," 1 Feb. 2019 Meanwhile, in Houston, the Menil Drawing Institute is expected to open later this year, designed by Los Angeles firm Johnston Marklee with a sensitive modernism very much in the spirit of the founders. — William Middleton, Town & Country, "How the De Menil Family Raised Good Taste to an Art Form," 7 Mar. 2018 Ellison’s push to make science fiction more literary was a victorious crusade, although other writers who made the same journey proved better equipped to write lasting books that blurred the line between fantastika and modernism. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Harlan Ellison’s Death Raises a #MeToo Quandary," 2 July 2018 With its quiet modernism, clarity of light, and absolute empowerment of the art, the Menil Collection is one of the most universally praised museum buildings of recent decades. — William Middleton, Town & Country, "How the De Menil Family Raised Good Taste to an Art Form," 7 Mar. 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.