modernity

noun

mo·​der·​ni·​ty mə-ˈdər-nə-tē 

mä-, 

-ˈder- 

1

: the quality or state of being or appearing to be modern

Such details as street lamps, telephone booths, mailboxes and manhole covers have been expensively recreated to recall a past that makes even young Hungarians nostalgic and Western tourists regret the flashy modernity of their cities.

—Henry Kamm

His early work portrayed the idiosyncratic behavior of his zany upper-class family whose wealth and quest for modernity impelled them to try out all the latest inventions and devices of the time, from electric razors to automobiles to flying machines.

—Naomi Rosenblum

2

: the modern era or world and especially the ideas and attitudes associated with the modern world

For all his conservatism, Henry Adams's encounter with modernity led neither to romantic antiquarianism … nor to an intensified commitment to those very liberal arts that were under siege in a market society.

—Peter N. Miller

Examples of modernity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This coat reflects Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ singular ability to communicate optimism and modernity through style alone, carrying within its seams the quiet power of a woman whose influence far transcended fashion. —Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 26 Nov. 2025

Similar analyses, whether from Simone Weil or Aimé Césaire, ought to have discouraged a relaxed conscience among the victors of the Second World War and opened up a broader inquiry into the barbarism inherent in political and economic modernity. —Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

In the forests of the Idaho Panhandle in 1917, modernity is picking up steam. —Rory Doherty, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

In addition to attracting foreign investment by putting the country’s technological modernity on display, the use of AI bots is designed to help insulate the government from international criticism of its democratic backsliding by burying or rewriting narratives that allege human rights abuses. —James P. Rubin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for modernity

• eternity
• fraternity
• maternity
• paternity
• confraternity
• taciturnity