1
: a practice, usage, or expression peculiar to modern times
such modernisms as "blog," "bromance," and "steampunk"
2
often capitalized : a tendency in theology to accommodate traditional religious teaching to contemporary thought and especially to devalue supernatural elements
3
: modern artistic or literary philosophy and practice
especially : a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression
extols the … modernism that laid the foundation of all twentieth-century design Jeffrey Simpson

Examples of modernism in a Sentence

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The combo of a white tank top and jeans always looks crisp, and with brown boots the whole ensemble becomes a lesson in clean modernism. Alex Sales, Glamour, 29 June 2025 A lot of the spiritual history wasn't, uh, kind of scrubbed away in with modernism and with certain contemporary laws. Outside Online, 25 June 2025 Jane knew of the the architect Philip Johnson through her friends Dominique and John de Menil, who were noted patrons of art and design, and huge fans of modernism in all its forms. Rima Suqi, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025 Di Cavalcanti, Volpi, Valentim all featured in the 2024 Venice Biennale, while de Carvalho, Volpi, and Valentim are currently part of an exhibition focusing on Brazilian modernism at the Royal Academy in London. Lise Alves, ARTnews.com, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for modernism

Word History

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of modernism was in 1737

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Cite this Entry

“Modernism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modernism. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

: a modern custom, expression, style, or idea
modernist noun or adjective
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