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

Derived Forms

• deconstructionist
  noun
• deconstructive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of deconstruction

de- + construction

Example Sentences

Of course, many artists before her have dabbled in the avant-garde deconstruction of the songwriting craft — fellow experimentalist Juana Molina comes to mind.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2025

Chair of the Silchester Estate Residents association, Nahid Ashby, acknowledges the "deconstruction" will be a painful process for many.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025

But the film’s meta moments are not a deconstruction of the form, so much as they are a mirror.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

The result was a stunning yet subtle deconstruction of the song — an exquisite little two-hander that felt like a conversation between Erivo and Hancock.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

He hadn’t said when he was expecting us to start deconstruction.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore