avant-garde 1 of 2

avant-garde

2 of 2

noun

as in vanguard
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of avant-garde
Adjective
Active in avant-garde music on the European music scene, Bertelmann frequently employs prepared piano and electronics. Jon Burlingame, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023 The nude, floor-length frock hinted at old Hollywood, perhaps a nod to mom Janet Leigh, but with the avant-garde touch of exterior boning in the corset. Christopher Muther, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Mar. 2023
Noun
No look has to be permanent, and with 2025’s most popular looks leaning into avant-garde classics, taking your hair to a new height is this season’s most palpable trends. India Espy-Jones, Essence, 9 Apr. 2025 Serpenti Aeterna reveals a new jeweled, avant-garde take on the Maison’s iconic reptile. Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avant-garde
Adjective
  • He was seen by many as a progressive figure, speaking out on issues like climate change, refugees and unbridled capitalism.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The mixed messaging would presage his style as a pontiff whose doctrinal conservatism would blend with increasingly progressive public statements.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Writer-director Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, out December 25, aims to lead the latest in the fang-banging vanguard.
    Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 25 Dec. 2024
  • Katy Perry 39, received this year's video vanguard award and treated viewers to a medley of her biggest hits — plus, presumably, material from her upcoming 143 album.
    Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • The next era focuses on cracking the code for personalization, advanced marketing assets, and empathetic conversational AI. Computational Medicine.
    Maribel Lopez, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • David Ornstein reports that talks to prolong Lionel Messi’s stint at Inter Miami beyond the expiry of his current contract in December are at an advanced stage.
    Ali Rampling, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The city this month began drilling at Del Prado Park, the first of several sites being explored to find safe, potable water underground.
    Kyle Martin, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
  • In the ever-evolving cyber underground, ransomware extortionists have grown to become perhaps the most sophisticated and formidable threat.
    Etay Maor, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The mill embraces the beauty of imperfection and asymmetry in Chaos Aesthetics, a trend concept that favors expressive textures, unconventional finishes and rich tactile experiences.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 17 Apr. 2025
  • The generational gap in honesty found in the survey comes amid a broader trend of unconventional job-search behaviors among younger candidates, including ghosting employers and abandoning the hiring process midway.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The collection Olsen’s gown hails from was rife with avant, flowing takes on bows, whether at the shoulders of pastel dresses or at the hips of drop waist dresses or tailored jackets.
    Marissa Muller, WWD, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The gentle, squishy textures of those loops, along with the work of avant jazz harp player Zeena Parkins, make for the strangely appropriate sonic backdrop of some of Björk’s most intimate and erotic songs.
    Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • That Seguin came back is one of those modern medical marvels, but he can’t be expected to carry too much.
    Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Despite the awkward journey to this match, Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton created a babyface vs. heel dynamic that is hard to come by given how jaded modern wrestling fans have become.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But contemporary critics such as Arthur Kropp, the president in 1991 of the progressive advocacy group People for the American Way, did see the dustup as a portent way back then.
    Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2025
  • And even now, contemporary artists like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa have embraced the disco beat.
    Alice George, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avant-garde. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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