deconstruction

[ dee-kuhn-struhk-shuhn ]

/ ˌdi kənˈstrʌk ʃən /

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noun

a philosophical and critical movement, starting in the 1960s and especially applied to the study of literature, that questions all traditional assumptions about the ability of language to represent reality and emphasizes that a text has no stable reference or identification because words essentially only refer to other words and therefore a reader must approach a text by eliminating any metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions through an active role of defining meaning, sometimes by a reliance on new word construction, etymology, puns, and other word play.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of deconstruction

de- + construction

OTHER WORDS FROM deconstruction

de·con·struc·tion·ist, adjective, nounde·con·struc·tive, adjective

Words nearby deconstruction

decongestant, decongestive, deconsecrate, deconstruct, deconstructed, deconstruction, decontaminate, decontextualize, decontrol, décor, decorate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use deconstruction in a sentence

One billion pounds of waste will be produced by the end of SONGS’ deconstruction, 80 percent of which is radioactively contaminated and has to be shipped to special landfills in Texas and Utah.
Environment Report: Why San Diego Can’t Recycle Its Nuclear Waste|MacKenzie Elmer|December 7, 2021|Voice of San Diego
The first “Nier” game appears to be a deconstruction of “The Legend of Zelda” and video game formula.
‘Nier Replicant’ is an experimental, heartbreaking pop album of a video game|Gene Park|April 22, 2021|Washington Post
Without any explanation we watch art restorers at work, and the painstaking, technical deconstruction of a Rembrandt.
Inside The Secret World of London’s National Gallery|Tim Teeman|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The largest mass grave in America existed uneasily as both hallowed ground and deconstruction site.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The standout of the collection was the designer's deconstruction of standard jacket cuts.
Salvatore Ferragamo's Military Hints|Liza Foreman|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She tends to go toward the Lady Gaga deconstruction, Alexander McQueen type of just out-there kind of costume.
RuPaul Picks Favorite All-Star Drag Race Looks|Maria Elena Fernandez|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Game of Thrones is a show that provokes—or even forces—viewer evaluation, deconstruction, and discussion.
‘Game of Thrones’: ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Parks and Rec’ Writers on Why They Love the HBO Drama|Jace Lacob|September 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for deconstruction

deconstruction

/ (ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃən) /

noun

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

Derived forms of deconstruction

deconstructionist, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012