avant-garde 1 of 2

Definition of avant-gardenext

avant-garde

2 of 2

noun

as in vanguard
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of avant-garde
Adjective
To Kim, the blueprint comes from Rei Kawakubo, the avant-garde founder behind the cult favorite label Comme des Garçons. Diana Tsui, Footwear News, 3 May 2026 Leto’s avant-garde accessory was inspired by the viral moment when designer Alessandro Michele had some models carry realistic versions of their own heads down the runway during Gucci’s fall 2018 ready-to-wear show. Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2026
Noun
But just a few miles away from Chicago and Schapiro’s avant-garde wonderland, in West Hollywood, lay another IRL feminist utopia called Fanny Hill. Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 3 May 2026 To Kim, the blueprint comes from Rei Kawakubo, the avant-garde founder behind the cult favorite label Comme des Garçons. Diana Tsui, Footwear News, 3 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avant-garde
Adjective
  • This tax would reclaim profits previously acquired from Californians by imposing additional levies on corporations that benefited from state tax incentives, as well as through a progressive tax structure targeting individuals with significant wealth.
    Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026
  • Four major candidates look to unseat Karen Bass Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces a tough reelection challenge in a field of 13 candidates, including a reality TV personality, a tech entrepreneur and two progressive candidates.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
Noun
  • Hekt’s debut album heralds a union between the left-field pop scene of his native Copenhagen and the influential Glasgow label Numbers, whose formidable run of 2010s releases—including several landmark SOPHIE singles—has left a neon imprint on the new Danish vanguard.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 1 May 2026
  • Yes, Barcelona comes across normally as a cool place, a vanguard city which everybody wants to visit.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The ReCAM project aims to change this by using advanced technology and AI to process this dirt locally, turning it directly back into high-grade battery components.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026
  • But experts have urged caution around the release of the new files, warning that UAP videos are often misinterpreted and mischaracterized by those unfamiliar with advanced military technology.
    Seung Min Kim, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026
Noun
  • Though operating at the center of the Venezuelan underground, Garbán embodies the disconnect between the scene’s international acclaim and domestic invisibility.
    Marcos Sanoja, Pitchfork, 8 May 2026
  • This plant is intended to store large quantities of hydrogen underground.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • At first glance, the pairing might seem like an unconventional one, even though both artists are well known for appropriating others’ images.
    Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 8 May 2026
  • The country’s ability to credibly threaten commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz actually hinges on multiple layers of cheap and unconventional warfare systems – drones, mines and a fleet of small attack boats, which are harder to detect than traditional naval assets.
    Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Adjective
  • Ted Turner, the media maverick and philanthropist who founded CNN, a pioneering 24-hour network that revolutionized television news, died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by his family, according to a news release from Turner Enterprises.
    Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 6 May 2026
  • For a pioneering English thespian, whose career has been largely defined by a character consumed with obsession, this particular project carries an unintended symbolism.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The Italian experimentalist goes absolutely haywire on a very overwhelming, very fun half-hour of ecstatic avant metal.
    Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Cabin in the Sky, for its part, evokes artistry beyond the genre, like Stereolab’s Margarine Eclipse, where the Chicago avant-pop band struggled to process the loss of longtime member Mary Hansen.
    Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Yet another secondary effect of the Iran war is the expansion of modern drone warfare to the Persian Gulf region.
    Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Clinics use modern equipment and high-quality materials and keep prices affordable.
    K.H. Koehler, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avant-garde. Accessed 11 May. 2026.

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