modernism

American  

[mod-er-niz-uhm] / ˈmɒd ərˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. modern character, tendencies, or values; adherence to or sympathy with what is modern.

2. a modern usage or characteristic.

3. (initial capital letter)

   1. the movement in Roman Catholic thought that sought to interpret the teachings of the Church in the light of philosophic and scientific conceptions prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: condemned by Pope Pius X in 1907.

   2. the liberal theological tendency in Protestantism in the 20th century.

4. (sometimes initial capital letter) a deliberate philosophical and practical estrangement or divergence from the past in the arts and literature occurring especially in the course of the 20th century and taking form in any of various innovative movements and styles.

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modernism British  

/ ˈmɒdəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. modern tendencies, characteristics, thoughts, etc, or the support of these

2. something typical of contemporary life or thought

3. a 20th-century divergence in the arts from previous traditions, esp in architecture See International Style

4. (capital) RC Church the movement at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries that sought to adapt doctrine to the supposed requirements of modern thought

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Other Word Forms

• antimodernism noun
• modernist noun
• modernistic adjective
• modernistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of modernism

First recorded in 1730–40; modern + -ism

Explanation

Modernism describes things you do that are contemporary or current. Your modernism may be seen in your up-to-date clothing, your contemporary taste in books, and your willingness to stay up on current trends. Modernism can describe thought, behavior, or values that reflect current times, but it can also be used to describe an art and literature movement of the 19th and 20th centuries that intentionally split from earlier conservative traditions. The poet Ezra Pound was a key figure in modernism, and his famous slogan "Make it new!" sums up the values of modernism, which rejected traditional forms and styles for more experimental techniques.

Example Sentences

Paintings by Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Kazimir Malevich, Egon Schiele and others provide a look at different, usually more radical, deviations into modernism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

An artist who was often described to have a nomadic and bohemian disposition, he dabbled seamlessly with Cubist-inspired modernism and traditional Indian themes, creating bold and vibrant canvases with scenes from history and mythology.

From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025

In the early 1960s, Ames faced fierce opposition from civic groups, who decried modernism as a threat to Balboa Park’s Spanish heart.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

“I always feel people become more themselves when they’re in their house,” Reinsve tells me on a cloudless autumn morning at Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1921 premonition of California modernism.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

A fan of modernism and progress in all forms, Greeley was happy to introduce his readers to the new idea of spirit communication.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• modernization