postmodern

adjective

post·​mod·​ern ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dərn 

nonstandard -ˈmä-d(ə-)rən

1

: of, relating to, or being an era after a modern one

postmodern times

a postmodern metropolis

2

a

: of, relating to, or being any of various movements in reaction to modernism that are typically characterized by a return to traditional materials and forms (as in architecture) or by ironic self-reference and absurdity (as in literature)

b

: of, relating to, or being a theory that involves a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history, or language

postmodern feminism

postmodernism

ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm 

noun

postmodernist

ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dər-nist 

adjective or noun

postmodernity

ˌpōs(t)-mə-ˈdər-ne-tē 

-mä-

also -ˈder-

noun

Examples of postmodern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once Ida is revived, Buckley is rife with tics and guttural asides, switching between rat-a-tat mobster slang and Shelley’s flowery English prose like some postmodern literary Gollum. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026

Moynahan discovered her growing fame on the show in a very postmodern way. —Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026

Modern and postmodern life is too variegated. —Shayla Love, New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2026

No matter, this is Wilder at his most postmodern before such a thing existed. —Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for postmodern

• premodern
• modern