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Origin of modernist
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Graham developed her now-familiar modernist principles for working the torso and spine, known as “contraction” and “release,” with her troupe, all female at the time, between 1927 and 1928.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams brushed off criticism, saying that Obama himself was inspired by the chunky works of the modernist Romanian sculptor.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
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
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
The Scott Dunn Orchestra debuted last May with a whole concert devoted to Henry Mancini, followed in November by a showcase of Hollywood’s midcentury modernists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026
Some modernists were unaware that they lived under this climate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
While top sales often feature established modernists like Husain, Souza, Gaitonde, and Raza, auctioneers say rising top prices lift demand and values for previously overlooked artists as well.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
Back then, the trial was considered an argument between fundamentalists and modernists — but there was debate.
From Salon ● May 30, 2023
Books so eminently adapted for young ladies at mid-Victorian schools did not appeal to modernists educated by Comte and Spencer.
From The History of the Fabian Society by Pease, Edward R.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
