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

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Etymology

Origin of performative

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

performative

But underneath what seems promising, the beginnings of empathy and maybe healing, there’s something performative and calculated in this fast bond.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

One said the show has "gone from iconic glamour to an influencer circus" and they felt "social media clout and performative inclusivity have replaced real modeling talent, elegance, and runway presence".

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

You may not like it, but this was like something from the peak era of performative millennial corporate synergy.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

Editors are doing their jobs again, protecting the public by allowing less performative intellectual laziness in their pages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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

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