performative

American  

[per-fawr-muh-tiv] / pərˈfɔr mə tɪv /

adjective

1. 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.

2. relating to the performance of behaviors associated with a particular social role or identity.

   He reflects on his mother's performative femininity, remembering the times he witnessed her adorning herself with eyeshadow, bracelets, and belts.

3. relating to ways of behaving that exhibit a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality, often making a superficial impression.

   Performative wokeness enables privileged people to reap the social benefits of wokeness without actually undertaking the necessary legwork to combat inequality.

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noun

1. a performative utterance.

performative British  

/ pəˈfɔːmətɪv /

adjective

1. 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 sense See also locutionary act illocution perlocution

   2. ( as noun )

      that sentence is a performative

2. 1. denoting a verb that may be used as the main verb in such an utterance

   2. ( as noun )

      ``promise'' is a performative

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Other Word Forms

• performatively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of performative

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

performative

Not even doing the performative card-reach for the food is bold.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

It’s reality television-style performative sensitivity wrapped in six-pack abs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

“But I don’t. That’s me being performative, like, trying desperately to buy the right clothes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Streeting also dismissed a Russian warship's recent live-firing exercise in the English Channel as "performative" but added it was a "reminder of the frankly unsafe and unprofessional way in which they have been conducting themselves".

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

I could see now that there was a performative piece to politics that I hadn’t yet fully mastered.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama