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

Explanation

An artist who belonged to a 19th- and 20th-century art movement that rejected old ideas and styles was called a modernist. Virginia Woolf is one example of a modernist writer. The philosophy behind modernist art and writing was basically that the old Victorian ways of expressing artistic vision weren't keeping up with the changes in society. Modern industry, the growth of cities, and reactions to World War I were all factors that affected modernists' break with the old style. Modernist painters included the Impressionists (like Manet and Monet). Philosopher Immanuel Kant, psychologist Sigmund Freud, and composer Arnold Schoenberg are all also considered to be modernists.

Example Sentences

The last Bayreuth “Ring” looked like a Netflix series taking place in a modernist woodsy villa.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Ana Rosa Romero lives on the 11th floor of the Granma Dos building, an imposing modernist social housing block in the Cuban capital, Havana.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

Less a recondite modernist experiment than a grandly mysterious yet accessible achievement, the composition marked a profound shift in 20th-century classical music.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

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

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

With unbelievable nerve, Picasso, along with Georges Braque, a housepainter turned modernist painter, eliminated almost all color and perspective from their work.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day