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

All three of us share a focus on researching, archiving and documenting Black modernism and space.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

In the early years of the 20th century, Münter stood at the vanguard of European modernism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

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

The Rite of Spring was the zenith of musical modernism in the early twentieth century.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• modernization