modernist

American  

[mod-er-nist] / ˈmɒd ər nɪst /

noun

1. a person who follows or favors modern ways, tendencies, etc.

2. a person who advocates the study of modern subjects in preference to ancient classics.

3. an adherent of modernism in theological questions.

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adjective

1. of modernists or modernism.

Other Word Forms

• antimodernist noun
• hypermodernist noun
• promodernist adjective

Etymology

Origin of modernist

First recorded in 1580–90; modern + -ist

Example Sentences

It features a very modernist design, with two separate wings of the home connected by a central walkthrough area.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

His journey is one of extreme survival, but his destination is the lap of luxury: a modernist San Francisco mansion where he makes himself at home and where he’s clearly been before.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Written in 133 short sections, it moves more like a modernist work than a Romantic one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Dating from 1920, it stands beside the former North British Diesel Engine Work building, one of the earliest examples of modernist industrial architecture in Scotland.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

On the wall behind her, a painted wisteria vine frays into a tangled modernist spray of color that makes von Rumpel uneasy.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr