postmodern
adjective
post·mod·ern
ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dərn 
nonstandard -ˈmä-d(ə-)rən
1
: of, relating to, or being an era after a modern one
postmodern times
a postmodern metropolis
2
a
: of, relating to, or being any of various movements in reaction to modernism that are typically characterized by a return to traditional materials and forms (as in architecture) or by ironic self-reference and absurdity (as in literature)
b
: of, relating to, or being a theory that involves a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history, or language
postmodern feminism
Examples of postmodern in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The first side was recorded at San Francisco’s Boarding House, a venue that was an early champion of Martin’s postmodern persona, before an audience of 300 people.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
The hotel’s industrial-chic aesthetic was strikingly contemporary, with postmodern furniture set against raw concrete walls and polished stone floors suggesting a refined Hellenic corner of Brooklyn.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
As the Trisha Brown Dance Company continues on without Trisha Brown — the great postmodern choreographer who died in 2017 — the group has staged works on and off the proscenium stage, and even relocated her works to a beach.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Moynahan discovered her growing fame on the show in a very postmodern way.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 11 Feb. 2024
And Russia is now a postmodern autocracy that can brandish Putin’s still sky-high approval ratings (however skewed) and his inevitable re-election (however undemocratic) as a sign of legitimacy and unquestionable public support for the war.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
From early on, a crew of theorists, Craig Owens, Douglas Crimp, and Laura Mulvey among them, canonized Sherman as a brow-furrowing, super-serious artist, making work about weighty postmodern concerns.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2024
Back in the day, that kind of self-referential narrative gamesmanship was fun, the sort of thing people liked to call postmodern, with its roots in the fiction of Vladimir Nabokov and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024
It’s characterized by a clear identity and the peculiar vision of its eponymous owner, with postmodern works from the likes of David Salle.
—Charlotte Davey, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2024
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
The hotel’s industrial-chic aesthetic was strikingly contemporary, with postmodern furniture set against raw concrete walls and polished stone floors suggesting a refined Hellenic corner of Brooklyn.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
As the Trisha Brown Dance Company continues on without Trisha Brown — the great postmodern choreographer who died in 2017 — the group has staged works on and off the proscenium stage, and even relocated her works to a beach.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Moynahan discovered her growing fame on the show in a very postmodern way.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 11 Feb. 2024
And Russia is now a postmodern autocracy that can brandish Putin’s still sky-high approval ratings (however skewed) and his inevitable re-election (however undemocratic) as a sign of legitimacy and unquestionable public support for the war.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
From early on, a crew of theorists, Craig Owens, Douglas Crimp, and Laura Mulvey among them, canonized Sherman as a brow-furrowing, super-serious artist, making work about weighty postmodern concerns.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2024
Back in the day, that kind of self-referential narrative gamesmanship was fun, the sort of thing people liked to call postmodern, with its roots in the fiction of Vladimir Nabokov and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024
It’s characterized by a clear identity and the peculiar vision of its eponymous owner, with postmodern works from the likes of David Salle.
—Charlotte Davey, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'postmodern.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to postmodern
Dictionary Entries Near postmodern
Cite this Entry
“Postmodern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postmodern. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share