Synonyms of modernist

modernist 1 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• liberal
• modern
• revolutionary
• leftist
• ultramodernist
• progressive
• reformist
• extremist
• radical
• bohemian
• lefty
• revolutionist
• neophiliac
• reformer

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fossil
• reactionary
• conservative
• rightist
• fogy
• Tory
• stick-in-the-mud
• traditionalist
• veteran
• dodo
• right-winger
• old hand
• antediluvian
• standpatter
• conformist
• fuddy-duddy
• old-timer
• neoconservative
• neocon
• Bourbon
• square
• archconservative
• diehard
• Colonel Blimp
• stuffed shirt
• paleoconservative

modernist

2 of 2

adjective

as in modern

Related Words

• modern
• contemporary
• modernistic
• ultramodern
• present-day
• current
• newfangled
• new age
• state-of-the-art
• designer
• new
• chic
• up-to-date
• fashionable
• stylish
• mod
• space-age
• red-hot
• new-fashioned
• fresh
• modernized
• latest
• hot
• futuristic
• nontraditional
• updated
• smart
• renewed
• latter-day
• high-tech
• last
• refurbished
• recent
• remodeled

Dissimilar Words

• antique
• old-world
• retro
• vintage
• old-time
• old-school
• old-fashioned
• quaint
• retrograde
• antiquated
• historical
• traditional
• obsolete
• historic
• old-timey
• moldy
• oldfangled
• olden
• rinky-dink

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of modernist

Noun

The modernist compound at 100 Rockledge sits on more than an acre of direct oceanfront and was designed by architect Fred Briggs. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026

My favorite example of this phenomenon comes from an old cover of The New Yorker—specifically, the October 11, 1930, issue, which features an illustration by the modernist painter and sculptor Theodore Gilbert Haupt. — Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026

At the 48th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, 13 works by Finnish modernist architects Aino, Elissa, and Alvar Aalto were added to the organization’s World Heritage List. — News Desk, Artforum, 28 July 2026

Your favorite modernist is getting three new adaptations this summer. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026

When designing an Indianapolis home for a chef and art collector, Jakeb Novak of Specht Novak says his team drew inspiration from nearby Columbus, which has a rich modernist history. — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 20 July 2026

This form makes the book startlingly original, an exemplary modernist novel in its redefinition of storytelling. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026

James Jarvaise, the late California modernist (1924—2015), cuts a slick silhouette in Henry Taylor’s vibrant impasto rendering of him. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2026

Woolf composed her great modernist novels and her brilliant essays while troubled by suicidal thoughts and the tumult of two world wars. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 1 July 2026

Adjective

Scandinavian countries and Japan produced particularly attractive modernist flatware in the 1950s and ’60s, giving you the vintage look without the constant polishing. — Rachel Silva, Martha Stewart, 14 Aug. 2026

But Royan also attracts people interested in the unique ways that the town’s homes and buildings were built in the modernist style of the 1950s. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

This Sag Harbor home is a delightful design mashup with a modernist exterior and mid-century modern interiors. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2026

The couple, unmoored, considered pivoting to a modernist-style house or even selling the land, but the prospect of a multiyear setback was too much to bear. — Laura Regensdorf, Architectural Digest, 5 Aug. 2026

Or the elective abjection of modernist figures like Antonin Artaud, Jean Genet, Marguerite Duras, and Simone Weil. — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Spread across Finland, the collection includes private homes, concert halls, university buildings, industrial communities and one of the world’s most influential modernist sanatoriums. — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

The Aalto Works are among a host of projects added to the World Heritage List this year, including the modernist architecture of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath in India. — News Desk, Artforum, 28 July 2026

Located at 23 Mauwee Brook Road in Kent, modernist architect Charles Gwathmey designed the home and it was later upgraded in collaboration with the designer of the World Trade Center Memorial, Michael Arad. — Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026