performative

[per-fawr-muh-tiv]

adjective Philosophy, Linguistics.

(of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression “I promise,” that performs the act of promising.

noun

a performative utterance.

Compare constative.

Origin of performative

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for performative

Contemporary Examples of performative

George and his brother Richard are the founders of Major League Eating, but George is the performative half of the duo.
How to Stomach a Hot Dog Eating Contest
Robert Silverman
July 5, 2014
It was a technical and performative dance and everyone needed to be on time and in time.
Lupita Nyong’o On Her Magical Journey from Kenya to ‘12 Years A Slave’ and Possible Oscar Glory
Marlow Stern
February 22, 2014
This, you could say, is the tension at the heart of much of the West's performative art.
Maurice Ravel, Brilliantly Un-Raveled
Blake Gopnik
June 4, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for performative

performative

adjective linguistics philosophy

1. denoting an utterance that constitutes some act, esp the act described by the verb. For example, I confess that I was there is itself a confession, and so is performative in the narrower sense, while I'd like you to meet … (effecting an introduction) is performative only in the looser senseSee also locutionary act, illocution, perlocution
2. (as noun)that sentence is a performative
1. denoting a verb that may be used as the main verb in such an utterance
2. (as noun)``promise'' is a performative

Derived Formsperformatively, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for performative

1955, adjective and noun, coined by British philosopher of language J.L. Austin (1911-1960), from perform + -ive.