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• dada
  dada

  noun

  the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.
• Dada
  Dada

  noun

  a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

dada

American  

[dah-dah] / ˈdɑ dɑ /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.

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Dada British  

/ ˈdɑːdɑːˌɪzəm, ˈdɑːdɑː /

noun

1. a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

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Other Word Forms

• Dadaist noun
• Dadaistic adjective
• Dadaistically adverb
• dadaism noun
• dadaist noun
• dadaistic adjective
• dadaistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of dada

1915–20; < French: hobby horse, childish reduplication of da giddyap

Explanation

Dada is another way to say "daddy" or "papa," a nickname for your father. The word dada is also the name of an early 20th-century art movement that protested conventional ideas using humor and absurdity. Across most cultures, dada is an extremely common first word (or sound) spoken by babies. In English, this is usually translated as "dad" or "daddy," and it sometimes continues to be a young child's name for their father. The avant-garde art movement took the word as its name, often capitalized as Dada, from its silly, innocent sound and multiple meanings (including "rocking horse" in French and "yes, yes" in Romanian). Ironically, this art movement was intentionally anti-art, with Dadaist artists claiming that "Dada means nothing."

Example Sentences

In some ways, that is what makes it dada to me.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2025

Mr Currie's show, Shtoom, is described on the theatre website as a "unique, surrealist, dada punk-clown, non-verbal experience".

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2024

“No son fácilmente reemplazables dada la escasez de mano de obra. No queremos otra interrupción, pero estamos preparados para la huelga”.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2022

With no resonating chamber in the throat, they can manage little beyond mama, dada, ga-ga.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2021

“Your dada changes his opinions more often than his socks,” the boy said.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer