postmodern

adjective

post·​mod·​ern ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dərn How to pronounce postmodern (audio)
 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
postmodernist adjective or noun
postmodernity
ˌpōs(t)-mə-ˈdər-ne-tē How to pronounce postmodern (audio)
-mä-
 also  -ˈder-
noun

Examples of postmodern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web 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 Philosopher Lee McIntyre has described this effort as the hijacking of postmodern principles to advance a war on truth. Stephan Lewandowsky, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2024 But Casino de Monte-Carlo enforces a dress code and charges admission, while Las Vegas is a kitschy spectacle, a postmodern middlebrow mishmash where everything from fine art and Michelin-star dining to strip clubs are on hand 24-7 and lit up in looping neon. David Hill, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2024 Ramen by Ra is a charming throwback to the dawn of its postmodern era, following the chef and Momofuku emperor David Chang’s bomb drop with Noodle Bar. Abe Beame, Essence, 20 Dec. 2023 The novel seems to take its stylistic inspiration from the 13th-century text Samguk Yusa, a chronicle of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, as well as from the postmodern virtuosity of writers such as Thomas Pynchon and Roberto Bolaño. Krys Lee, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2023 Perhaps the most diabolical aspect of Trump’s postmodern authoritarian skill set is his way of winking at his darkest intentions. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023

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.

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of postmodern was in 1916

Dictionary Entries Near postmodern

Cite this Entry

“Postmodern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postmodern. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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