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

Second, Canadians live next to a society that is the heart of modernity. —Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 2 July 2025

Spike’s village, absent of the comforts and hazards of modernity, is built on fragments of British identity. —Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 23 June 2025

This, rather than just being drunk on options, should be the sweet slog of modernity. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 23 June 2025

These works shocked the public and critics by presenting a radically different vision of modernity. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 29 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for modernity

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