performative

American  

[per-fawr-muh-tiv] / pərˈfɔr mə tɪv /

adjective

1. Philosophy, Linguistics. (of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression “I promise,” that performs the act of promising.

2. relating to the performance of behaviors associated with a particular social role or identity.

   He reflects on his mother's performative femininity, remembering the times he witnessed her adorning herself with eyeshadow, bracelets, and belts.

3. relating to ways of behaving that exhibit a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality, often making a superficial impression.

   Performative wokeness enables privileged people to reap the social benefits of wokeness without actually undertaking the necessary legwork to combat inequality.

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noun

1. a performative utterance.

performative British  

/ pəˈfɔːmətɪv /

adjective

1. 1. denoting an utterance that constitutes some act, esp the act described by the verb. For example, I confess that I was there is itself a confession, and so is performative in the narrower sense, while I'd like you to meet … (effecting an introduction) is performative only in the looser sense See also locutionary act illocution perlocution

   2. ( as noun )

      that sentence is a performative

2. 1. denoting a verb that may be used as the main verb in such an utterance

   2. ( as noun )

      ``promise'' is a performative

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Other Word Forms

• performatively
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of performative

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

performative

He said Albadri had acted in an "absurd, performative fashion" which was "deliberately designed to draw attention to himself".

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

It looks like performative hydration, but it’s literally because if I don’t challenge myself to drink water, I just won’t drink water at all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

“There’s a performative aspect where employees overblow their usage of AI so that they appear relevant in the organization,” says Andrea Derler, principal researcher at Visier, which helps companies track and analyze employee work habits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

I am thoroughly unimpressed by this sudden, performative show of fire safety.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

I could see now that there was a performative piece to politics that I hadn’t yet fully mastered.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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