avant-garde 1 of 2

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
But Gaga has also been savvy enough not to be pigeonholed as just the avant-garde lady, though, opting for high elegance depending on the event. EW.com, 31 Aug. 2025 The residence is ideal for those who gravitate toward the unusual and, ideally, will be acquired by someone who wants to retain the home’s avant-garde character while updating it to align with today’s everyday needs. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
Gray with metallic undertones: a bolder approach, present in the collections of avant-garde fashion brands. René Chávez Esparza, Glamour, 16 Aug. 2025 Born in East Harlem to Puerto Rican parents — and the younger brother of Charlie, another virtuoso keyboardist and bandleader — Palmieri reflected the city’s inner turmoil and avant-garde tendencies through a propulsive patchwork of jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, funk, and psychedelia. Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avant-garde
Adjective
  • Today’s progressive lenses offer a workaround.
    Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Radcliffe is Newland Archer, a handsome, progressive, and intelligent society gentleman who craves a deeper and more passionate connection to the world and someone in it.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Waymo’s self-driving cars are a vanguard of this movement, a vehicle that can perceive its surroundings and make decisions in real time.
    Divyaditya Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Behrman successfully pitched his boss at Columbia Masterworks a new series, called Music of Our Time, showcasing the classical vanguard and its potential intersections with the longhair rock market.
    William Robin, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • While far from a cure, the study points to a new path that combines advanced manufacturing, stem cell science, and regenerative medicine.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The Dreamliner is 25% more fuel-efficient than older models due to lighter construction and advanced engines.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Sibiya said the men had been killed by gas underground, their bodies carried out of the mine by colleagues and left for the police to find.
    Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Millions of Americans own the rights to oil and gas underground.
    Jacob Orledge, ProPublica, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Others were more open to the unconventional dish.
    Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Clara Son merges unconventional silhouettes with timeless tailoring to create pieces that feel both deeply personal and universally resonant.
    Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Thomas Schumacher, a pioneering force for nearly 40 years behind Disney Theatrical Group‘s reign as a top Broadway and international stage presence, will depart the company at the end of the month, Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment, announced to staff today.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Abbie Hills, 29, is a pioneering talent agent who has built her business around representing actors and actresses with disabilities.
    Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Jim Rinnert was the longtime art director for In These Times magazine and a theater enthusiast who co-wrote an award-winning multimedia theatrical work based on the writings of avant-grade theater and cinema artist Antonin Artaud.
    Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
  • The product of a multinational household — daughter of a West African percussionist and a Swedish designer, stepdaughter of avant-jazz trumpeter Don Cherry — this year's most daring Best New Artist nominee went on to join several abrasive and ear-shattering British punk bands in the early '80s.
    EW.com, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The planes are modern, with the average aircraft being less than seven years old.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
  • In the modern game, from Tests to T20s and The Hundred, each side will now tend to include more than one gun fielder.
    James Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avant-garde. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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