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

I think that’s such a universal feeling right now in this performative culture that we live in.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

The lack of a son’s POV makes Boy Mom pining both performative and disturbingly real.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026

“When you’re out there promoting your movies, there’s a certain performative nature to it. It’s overwhelming. I do get overwhelmed by it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

While Putin's visit is not expected to receive the same pomp as Trump's, "the Xi-Putin relationship does not require that kind of performative reassurance", said Patricia Kim from the Brookings Institution in Washington.

From Barron's • May 19, 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