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
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In this 227-page account, which is dotted with illustrations drawn by the author himself, anecdotes range in subject from ancient Greek designs to postmodern master Michael Graves’s work for JCPenney. Geoffrey Montes, Architectural Digest, 1 Jan. 2025 Busoni had enormous respect for the past, too, and in that regard he may be more appropriately described as the first postmodern composer. Joshua Barone, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024 Chief Keef: Almighty So 2 The stopwatch started on rap’s postmodern era with Chief Keef’s Almighty So, released in late 2013—an obscure-sounding record misconstrued in its own time, whose intuitive style would inform just about every major rap trend in the decade to come. Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024 Pennies from Heaven was based on British writer Dennis Potter’s postmodern TV series about the morbid inner life of a Depression-era sheet music salesman named Arthur (played by Steve Martin). Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for postmodern 

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 11 Jan. 2025.

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