postmodern

[ pohst-mod-ern ]

/ poʊstˈmɒd ərn /

Save This Word!

adjective

noting or pertaining to architecture of the late 20th century, appearing in the 1960s, that consciously uses complex forms, fantasy, and allusions to historic styles, in contrast to the austere forms and emphasis on utility of standard modern architecture.

extremely modern; cutting-edge: postmodern kids who grew up on MTV.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of postmodern

First recorded in 1945–50; post- + modern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use postmodern in a sentence

We see detoxing as a path to transcendence, a symbol of modern urban virtue and self-transformation through abstinence.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Who among Scalise's constituents could possibly care if he supported naming a post office for a black judge who died in 1988?
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Her post-crown fame, though, only further begs the question: Why has there not been another Jewish Miss America since 1945?
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Women are more likely to recover sooner from birth and less likely to experience post-partum depression.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The number of dissenters though is unprecedented in the modern era.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup|Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
The east window in this church has been classed as the A1 of modern painted windows.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
If Mac had been alone he would have made the post by sundown, for the Mounted Police rode picked horses, the best money could buy.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The Café tender was asleep in his chair; the porter had gone off; the sentinel alone kept awake on his post.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The pipe has a modern look and is altogether unlike those found by the English in use among the Indians in Virginia.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for postmodern

postmodern

/ (pəʊstˈmɒdən) /

adjective

(in the arts, architecture, etc) characteristic of a style and school of thought that rejects the dogma and practices of any form of modernism; in architecture, contrasting with international modernism and featuring elements from several periods, esp the Classical, often with ironic use of decoration

Derived forms of postmodern

postmodernism, nounpostmodernist, noun, adjective

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