as in liberal
a person with very modern ideas
a time when Paris was the center of the universe for modernists in the art world
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Recent Examples of modernist
AFAR Media, 17 Oct. 2025
The intellectual premise of the movie—true to Greaves’s modernist spirit—arises from the practical premise of its production, namely, a fusion of celebration and cerebration, unity of purpose and dialectical confrontations.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
The modernist architecture of Luis Barragán, the geometric rigor of the Church of the Resurrection in Bosque de las Lomas, the lush natural landscape, and Mexico’s rich mineral heritage lie at the heart of the creative process behind each of these new pieces.
—Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2025
Bauhaus Human Scale In Stuttgart Stuttgart’s Weissenhof Estate, built in 1927, was a testing ground for modernist ideas.
—Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
His restaurant sits in the courtyard of the Hotel Saint Augustine, an airy, modernist space brimming with sagebrush.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
This was a departure from Pärt’s earlier modernist and experimental music, and expressed a yearslong struggle to reconcile his newfound commitment to Orthodox Christianity and his rigorous artistic ideals.
—Jeffers Engelhardt, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Suddenly panicked, Maria turns the car around and heads back to her boxy, modernist house with Danny and locks him in her basement.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
In terms of design, the EliteBook Ultra G1i has the same sleek, modernist chassis as the Qualcomm Snapdragon version launched last year.
—PC Magazine, 7 Sep. 2025
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
This is part of the book’s perverse brilliance, its sense of good old-fashioned modernist fun.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The modernist gem was last sold to virologist Nathan Wolfe and his playwright wife Lauren Gunderson for around $5 million in 2021 and was subsequently renovated; it has just been relisted for a dash under $7 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2025
The space is essential and assertive, a modernist home conceived by NDA Noël Dominguez Architecte, a firm that specializes in the dynamic renovations of existing homes.
—Amir Capogrossi Badreddine, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
Jacques Wei Jacques Wei brought a slice of 1980s Paris to Shanghai with a show set at Yangtze Hotel — a 1930s architecture marvel with grand modernist wall carvings against Chinese gateways, a mix-and-match glamour that has come to define the vitality of the five-year-old brand.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025
The new 146,000-square-foot complex of nine interlocking modernist pavilions, built on the site of the former building that was demolished in 2021, almost doubles the museum’s size.
—New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Welcome to The Saturn Haus, a sophisticated desert masterpiece that serves as a modernist sanctuary in Joshua Tree, California.
—Tj MacIas, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025
An auction this week of Nigerian modernist work will also feature pieces by Enwonwu and Egonu.
—Suyin Haynes, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
Or head to Ibirapuera Park, where the Oca and Bienal pavilions (both designed by modernist Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer) regularly host major exhibitions and events.
—AFAR Media, 17 Oct. 2025
The intellectual premise of the movie—true to Greaves’s modernist spirit—arises from the practical premise of its production, namely, a fusion of celebration and cerebration, unity of purpose and dialectical confrontations.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
The modernist architecture of Luis Barragán, the geometric rigor of the Church of the Resurrection in Bosque de las Lomas, the lush natural landscape, and Mexico’s rich mineral heritage lie at the heart of the creative process behind each of these new pieces.
—Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2025
Bauhaus Human Scale In Stuttgart Stuttgart’s Weissenhof Estate, built in 1927, was a testing ground for modernist ideas.
—Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
His restaurant sits in the courtyard of the Hotel Saint Augustine, an airy, modernist space brimming with sagebrush.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
This was a departure from Pärt’s earlier modernist and experimental music, and expressed a yearslong struggle to reconcile his newfound commitment to Orthodox Christianity and his rigorous artistic ideals.
—Jeffers Engelhardt, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Suddenly panicked, Maria turns the car around and heads back to her boxy, modernist house with Danny and locks him in her basement.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
In terms of design, the EliteBook Ultra G1i has the same sleek, modernist chassis as the Qualcomm Snapdragon version launched last year.
—PC Magazine, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Thornton is working on a beach condo with a throwback modernist vibe, and while most of the flooring is terrazzo, her team used plush wall-to-wall carpets for the bedrooms in shades of periwinkle, lilac and mint.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
This is part of the book’s perverse brilliance, its sense of good old-fashioned modernist fun.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The modernist gem was last sold to virologist Nathan Wolfe and his playwright wife Lauren Gunderson for around $5 million in 2021 and was subsequently renovated; it has just been relisted for a dash under $7 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2025
The space is essential and assertive, a modernist home conceived by NDA Noël Dominguez Architecte, a firm that specializes in the dynamic renovations of existing homes.
—Amir Capogrossi Badreddine, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
Jacques Wei Jacques Wei brought a slice of 1980s Paris to Shanghai with a show set at Yangtze Hotel — a 1930s architecture marvel with grand modernist wall carvings against Chinese gateways, a mix-and-match glamour that has come to define the vitality of the five-year-old brand.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025
The new 146,000-square-foot complex of nine interlocking modernist pavilions, built on the site of the former building that was demolished in 2021, almost doubles the museum’s size.
—New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Welcome to The Saturn Haus, a sophisticated desert masterpiece that serves as a modernist sanctuary in Joshua Tree, California.
—Tj MacIas, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025
An auction this week of Nigerian modernist work will also feature pieces by Enwonwu and Egonu.
—Suyin Haynes, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for modernist
Noun
-
Even John Stuart Mill, the model nineteenth-century liberal and a feminist, did not think that Indians in British India were ready for free speech.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Navratilova is known as a highly outspoken liberal as a former athlete.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Nielsen, which tracks television ratings, now includes more modern devices in its tracking, an adjustment that has been expected to show higher sports viewership across the board.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Their shoes’ aesthetic blends modern minimalism with classic styles that are designed to be subtle enough for everyday wear but with a twist thanks to the footwear’s unexpected details.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Most of the records on the Haitian revolution were written by people who opposed the revolutionaries.—
Julia Gaffield,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
-
The Mexican actor plays revolutionaries in both season 2 of Star Wars series Andor and new movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This article is part of a wider series in partnership with Football Manager 26, which looks at the strengths and weaknesses of famous historical and contemporary tactics.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
But while an excellent hook for contemporary stagings of the play, this kind of parallel has limitations.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Others suggested the 50-foot steel sculpture was a bird, a horse, a Viking ship, a baboon or a modernistic representation of Picasso’s dog.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Also in Deer Valley is the ultramodern mansion featured in the HBO dystopian streamer Mountainhead.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Inspired by a pile of cardboard and constructed using the same material, Frank Gehry’s luxe Wiggle chair functions as the perfect compact statement piece that will slot right in next to a library bookshelf or stand on its on in an ultramodern space.—
Kate McGregor,
Architectural Digest,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Played by Susannah Flood, present-day Lizzie narrates from the present, as well as acting as a stand-in for her mother in scenes from the past.—
Carey Purcell,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
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Sitting in his present-day home in La Costa, Mitchell laughed at the irony.—
Kyle Kensing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Billups was arrested less than nine hours after Portland’s season-opening season-opening loss at home, a game notably attended by the team’s current owner and a financier in the process of buying the franchise.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
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But current technologies like micro-LEDs hit a limit when pixels shrink below one micrometer.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Modernist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/modernist. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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