deconstruct
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deconstructs,
present (3rd person singular)
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deconstructed,
past participle, past
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deconstructing
present participle
verb
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to apply the theories of deconstruction to (a text, film, etc)
-
to expose or dismantle the existing structure in (a system, organization, etc)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deconstructsimple
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deconstructssimple
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have deconstructedperfect
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has deconstructedperfect
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am deconstructingprogressive
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are deconstructingprogressive
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is deconstructingprogressive
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have been deconstructingperfect progressive
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has been deconstructingperfect progressive
Past
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deconstructedsimple
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had deconstructedperfect
-
was deconstructingprogressive
-
were deconstructingprogressive
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had been deconstructingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deconstruct
Apparently back formation from deconstruction
Explanation
To deconstruct a piece of writing or a work of art is to analyze it by carefully examining its ideas and language, especially to expose its contradictions and hidden meanings. An English professor can show you how to deconstruct a novel or poem, deciphering its individual parts, pulling them apart, and scrutinizing them for deeper meaning. Proving that a written text isn't what it initially seems to be is one goal of someone who deconstructs in this way — a graduate student might deconstruct "The Wizard of Oz," for example, and declare that it's actually an allegory for nineteenth century economics, rather than a children's story.
Vocabulary lists containing deconstruct
Media Literacy - High School
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Media Literacy - Middle School
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: de-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, think only of the 10 to the 53rd power artificial humans who may or may not come into existence on Venus in 10,000 years, when we deconstruct it and turn it into computronium.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
“It took me a long time to deconstruct my faith.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Mr. Enrigue feels called upon to deconstruct the genre of the western, even if that means undermining the excellent story in his own novel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
It was shut down in 2022 and sold to Holtec, which was expected to deconstruct the buildings and store the nuclear waste.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
Without saying a word to one another, we started to deconstruct each of our city sections by chunks and bricks.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
To illustrate how essential bee pollination is to our food supply, Mr. Hanson deconstructs a Big Mac.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
There’s a breathless monologue in which Mason deconstructs the art of baseball as “the perfect metaphor for hope in a democratic society.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
Sam Adams deconstructs how The Lego Movie transformed the way Hollywood blockbusters are built.
From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2024
A line of machines deconstructs polypropylene plastic from the backing layer of carpets, before creating pellets that can be used in new carpets, car body bumpers and storage containers.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2023
"I'm beginning to think you shouldn't have started reading comics with a book that completely deconstructs the last fifty years of the genre," he said.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Influencer Nara Smith, known for her elaborate deconstructed cooking videos, revealed one of the four children she shares with model Lucky Blue Smith is battling cancer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
He envisions a solution whereby the airport is deconstructed and scattered across its nearest city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
To highlight this concern, Colas deconstructed the nominal daily 5-year U.S.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
Grammy-winning singers Chappell Roan and Lola Young attended Vivienne Westwood's show and were clearly inspired by the late designer's deconstructed boudoir look.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
Nan looked at the deconstructed bike and then back and forth between Abby and me.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
When the world order they were constructed within is deconstructing in dramatic fashion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
A small team in the U.S. military’s research and engineering office put together plans to build an attack drone based on deconstructing a Shahed the military had recovered from Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Gold, who has been deconstructing his way through the Shakespeare canon, has delivered a “Romeo + Juliet” in the form of rave.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
Ms Beer said her hearing loss and the music she created as a result of it was helping to raise awareness of environmental issues, as well as deconstructing stereotypes about disability.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2024
Whenever she was really scared or freaking out, the same thing always happened: she began to dissociate, reality loosening around her like a hammock deconstructing itself, spilling her out into sands of nothingness.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
