Synonyms of avant-garde

avant-garde 1 of 2

adjective

as in progressive

being or employing the latest concepts, styles, or techniques

a very avant-garde artist whose works wouldn't even be considered art by many traditionalists

Synonyms & Similar Words

• progressive
• advanced
• unconventional
• pioneering
• avant
• modern
• contemporary
• revolutionary
• underground
• original
• new
• cutting-edge
• state-of-the-art
• modernistic
• bizarre
• strange
• alternative
• current
• nontraditional
• novel
• outré
• unfamiliar
• antiestablishment
• trailblazing
• fresh
• ultramodern
• unprecedented
• way-out
• unheard-of
• unknown
• far-out
• newfangled
• present-day
• hot
• unaccustomed
• up-to-date
• space-age
• new-fashioned
• mod
• red-hot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• traditional
• conventional
• customary
• established
• orthodox

avant-garde

2 of 2

noun

ˌä-ˌvän(t)-ˈgärd 

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

• vanguard
• underground
• pioneer
• van
• cutting edge
• avant-gardist
• forerunner
• precursor
• trailblazer

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• establishment
• old guard

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of avant-garde

Adjective

The avant-garde legend is seen sitting in a kitchen alongside Martin Scorsese and Marc Jacobs — each one representing a component of music, fashion, and film. — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026

Part of it was because Williams designed what his clients wanted rather than adhering to a strict aesthetic code, so he wasn’t considered an avant-garde architect. — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 24 June 2026

Noun

So kudos to the extras who steal scenes from them in the background, flailing like avant-garde dancers when a vicious mental parasite leaps from grandmothers to joggers to security guards on a quest to find something awful. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

Teaching nursery school during the day, Forti spent her evenings studying improvisation and composition at night at the Merce Cunningham Studio under musicologist Robert Ellis Dunn, who introduced her to the work of avant-garde composer John Cage. — News Desk, Artforum, 29 July 2026