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
The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 12 June 2026
David Peace’s modernist Red or Dead, about the life of the legendary Liverpool coach Bill Shankly, left me frequently breathless despite having little emotional investment in the ups and downs of Liverpool.
—Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
The event, the highlight of a weeklong trip to Spain for Leo, comes 144 years after construction on the unfinished modernist basilica began and 100 years since the death of its famous architect, Antoni Gaudí.
—Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 10 June 2026
Helsinki is famous for its 20th-century architecture, from its central train station (an Art Nouveau masterpiece by Eliel Saarinen) to the modernist simplicity of the Finlandia concert hall by Alvar Aalto.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
Initially this brought an overdue celebration of figures, like Fred Eversley, Jack Whitten, and Howardena Pindell, who had been working within high-modernist modes but had been discriminated against by white curators, dealers, and critics.
—Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The title of this collection, first published in 1984, and written by a central figure of the modernist Nayi Kavita (New Poetry) movement, refers to an ancient kingdom that looms large in Indian history and myth.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola has so far redesigned five suites, bringing her signature modernist touch while drawing on the island’s colors and materials.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2026
Shot mostly in the Canary Islands with the region’s searing, glaring Tropic-of-Cancer-adjacent light, freakishly black, volcanic soil and groovy mid-century-modernist buildings, the film suggests a future where the worst climactic disasters have been avoided.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
Ashley Mowreader, NBC news, 13 June 2026
This is a masterpiece of modernist Chinese architecture and design from China’s first Pritzker Prize-winning architect Wang Shu whose work is a poetic alternative to the country’s generic glass and steel highrises.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 June 2026
Over the subsequent years, McCreary transformed the initially vacant land into an ultra-private, modernist compound spanning nearly 15,000 square feet of living space.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 9 June 2026
The Pines, for instance, is noted for gay revelry amid geometrically precise houses by Horace Gifford, Harry Bates, and other important modernist architects.
—Fred A. Bernstein, Architectural Digest, 8 June 2026
In the middle of a sculptural fountain inspired by the Ilisos river, which once flowed through the neighborhood, stood a modernist iron snail, spouting water.
—Eleni N. Gage, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
That drone touches down at the address of architect Otone Komoto (Haruka Ayase), who designed her family’s modernist home, an arrangement of overlapping boxes stacked around a garden courtyard.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
Also featured are a pair of mid-20th century works by modernist pioneers Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota) and George Morrison (Ojibwe).
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
The Neue Galerie is known for its deep holdings of German and Austrian modernist art, including masterpieces by Gustav Klimt, at least one of which is worth more than $100 million.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026
Noun
Despite being a major 20th-century modernist, Galentz’s canvases have long-evaded definitive categorization.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 12 June 2026
David Peace’s modernist Red or Dead, about the life of the legendary Liverpool coach Bill Shankly, left me frequently breathless despite having little emotional investment in the ups and downs of Liverpool.
—Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
The event, the highlight of a weeklong trip to Spain for Leo, comes 144 years after construction on the unfinished modernist basilica began and 100 years since the death of its famous architect, Antoni Gaudí.
—Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 10 June 2026
Helsinki is famous for its 20th-century architecture, from its central train station (an Art Nouveau masterpiece by Eliel Saarinen) to the modernist simplicity of the Finlandia concert hall by Alvar Aalto.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
Initially this brought an overdue celebration of figures, like Fred Eversley, Jack Whitten, and Howardena Pindell, who had been working within high-modernist modes but had been discriminated against by white curators, dealers, and critics.
—Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The title of this collection, first published in 1984, and written by a central figure of the modernist Nayi Kavita (New Poetry) movement, refers to an ancient kingdom that looms large in Indian history and myth.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola has so far redesigned five suites, bringing her signature modernist touch while drawing on the island’s colors and materials.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2026
Shot mostly in the Canary Islands with the region’s searing, glaring Tropic-of-Cancer-adjacent light, freakishly black, volcanic soil and groovy mid-century-modernist buildings, the film suggests a future where the worst climactic disasters have been avoided.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
Adjective
Gaudí’s radical, modernist designs were mocked in his lifetime but have subsequently been celebrated.
—Ashley Mowreader, NBC news, 13 June 2026
This is a masterpiece of modernist Chinese architecture and design from China’s first Pritzker Prize-winning architect Wang Shu whose work is a poetic alternative to the country’s generic glass and steel highrises.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 June 2026
Over the subsequent years, McCreary transformed the initially vacant land into an ultra-private, modernist compound spanning nearly 15,000 square feet of living space.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 9 June 2026
The Pines, for instance, is noted for gay revelry amid geometrically precise houses by Horace Gifford, Harry Bates, and other important modernist architects.
—Fred A. Bernstein, Architectural Digest, 8 June 2026
In the middle of a sculptural fountain inspired by the Ilisos river, which once flowed through the neighborhood, stood a modernist iron snail, spouting water.
—Eleni N. Gage, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
That drone touches down at the address of architect Otone Komoto (Haruka Ayase), who designed her family’s modernist home, an arrangement of overlapping boxes stacked around a garden courtyard.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
Also featured are a pair of mid-20th century works by modernist pioneers Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota) and George Morrison (Ojibwe).
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
The Neue Galerie is known for its deep holdings of German and Austrian modernist art, including masterpieces by Gustav Klimt, at least one of which is worth more than $100 million.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for modernist
Noun
-
The winner will now face Democrat James Talarico in the November election, posing Texans with the choice between a MAGA ally and a liberal with a rising national profile.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 May 2026
-
Lee, a liberal who espouses improved ties with North Korea, didn't specifically comment on the threats posed by the North.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
The current Congress has set a modern record for the use of this GOP leadership-defying maneuver — resulting in the passage of a Ukraine aid bill and a worker contracts bill during this month alone.—
Nicholas Wu,
semafor.com,
16 June 2026
-
Most daily driving distances are short enough for modern battery EVs.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Kings, poets, scientists and revolutionaries wanted to meet him and sought his advice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Al Pacino plays a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate the Cuban revolutionary.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
The result of Anjuman’s education is profound—reading her poems, her deep knowledge of ancient Persian poetry and contemporary writing shimmers on every page.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Drawing on the opulence of the church’s iconography, the collection is a contemporary reimagining of the richness of its decoration.—
Fairchild Studio,
Footwear News,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Front and center is a large blue modernistic disc known as a Keystone Sparton Nocturne radio from 1935.—
Penny E Schwartz,
Oc Register,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Vessel’s starkly sharp architecture — critics call it cold or even brutally modernistic — has drawn pushback in several affluent suburbs, but its supporters say opposition is often based on a reluctance to bring lower- to moderate-income people into upscale neighborhoods.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Dubai is known as the business and tourism capital of the Middle East with its iconic, ultramodern skyscrapers, rising amid the desert and housing luxury hotels and residences for the superrich.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Along with the astonishing views of the Uinta Mountains, the Aspen Camp neighborhood inside the gates of the exclusive Promontory community captivates with a collection of ultramodern homes designed to immerse residents in Park City’s rugged beauty.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Still, the Spurs have the appetizing youthful prospects and assets, movable contracts, and present-day talent necessary to muster a major trade.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
-
There are other, earlier suggestions that human ancestors used fire in present-day South Africa, Israel and Kenya, but those examples are the subject of some debate and interpretation.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Such undead falsehoods drive our current peril.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Yet the current system leaves parents struggling to afford care, providers struggling to stay afloat and workers struggling to remain in the profession.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Modernist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/modernist. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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