newfangled

adjective

new·​fan·​gled ˈnü-ˈfaŋ-gəld 

1

: attracted to novelty

2

: of the newest style or kind

had many newfangled gadgets in the kitchen

newfangledness noun

Did you know?

Newfangled is actually a pretty old word: it dates all the way back to the 15th century, having developed from the even older adjective newfangle. In its earliest documented uses, newfangled described a person who was fond of new fashions, ideas, etc. In current usage, the word typically—and often deprecatingly—describes anything that is new, hip, hot, or happening, such as cutting-edge technology or popular slang. Other times it is used with irony for something, such as rock music, that might have been new at one time but is hardly new anymore.

Synonyms

• contemporary
• current
• designer
• hot
• mod
• modern
• modernistic
• new
• new age
• new-fashioned
• present-day
• red-hot
• space-age
• state-of-the-art
• ultramodern
• up-to-date
• up-to-the-minute

Examples of newfangled in a Sentence

His grandson owns all of the latest newfangled electronics.

the newfangled speech used by teenagers

Recent Examples on the Web

Yang says this newfangled system has been the goal of the company pretty much all along. —Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2024

In Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola’s polarizing box office flop, a futuristic development is the wild utopic imagining of Adam Driver’s protagonist Cesar Catilina, a controversial urbanist who’s invented a newfangled building material called Megalon. —Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Oct. 2024

Meanwhile, some members of the public feared riding by themselves in the newfangled contraptions and demanded operators. —Jenn Brice, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024

So, how do these newfangled tracking devices actually work? —Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from newefangel, from new + Old English *-fangol, from fōn (past participle fangen) to take, seize — more at pact

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

newfangled

adjective

new·​fan·​gled ˈn(y)ü-ˈfaŋ-gəld 

: of the newest style : novel

newfangled ideas

a newfangled contraption