deconstruction

American  

[dee-kuhn-struhk-shuhn] / ˌdi kənˈstrʌk ʃən /

noun

1. the act or practice of breaking something down into constituent parts.

   The deconstruction of complex problems into smaller issues can make them easier to tackle.

2. 1. a philosophical and critical movement that questions all traditional assumptions about the ability of language to represent reality and emphasizes that a text has no stable reference or meaning.

   2. a critical movement that questions forms, hierarchies, and assumptions that are thought to be fixed because of the language traditionally used to describe those forms, hierarchies, and assumptions.

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deconstruction British  

/ ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃən /

noun

1. a technique of literary analysis that regards meaning as resulting from the differences between words rather than their reference to the things they stand for. Different meanings are discovered by taking apart the structure of the language used and exposing the assumption that words have a fixed reference point beyond themselves

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Other Word Forms

• deconstructionist noun
• deconstructive adjective

Etymology

Origin of deconstruction

de- + construction

Example Sentences

In a three-star review, the Irish Times's Donald Clarke noted that "the surprise for many will be how closely this supposed deconstruction sticks to the shape of Emily Brontë's original narrative".

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Yet there’s still a vast distance between Love’s raw, arena-friendly confessionals and Malkmus’ jagged phrasing and artful deconstruction.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2025

The process of "careful and sensitive progressive deconstruction" will take place behind the tower's wrapping, it added.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2025

Whereas in the past, to tell a story of deconstruction or de-conversion you had to write a book.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2024

“Risley continues her disconcerting deconstruction of perceived gender and its relationship to perceived power, especially in respect to numinous imagery,” she says.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood