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

Budget review under those conditions is less a governing process than a performative overlap of unfinished business.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

An artist wears out his welcome when apologies begin to feel performative rather than meaningful, and when harmful behavior continues to overshadow his work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Ali's not the only Coachella car camper to push back at the idea their set-ups are performative.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

Once he settles on the sofa beside me, McKellen vacillates between performative storytelling and genuine reflection.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 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