postmodern

[ pohst-mod-ern ]

/ poʊstˈmɒd ərn /

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.

Nearby words

postmillenarianism, postmillennial, postmillennialism, postminimalism, postmistress, postmodern, postmodernism, postmodernist, postmortem, postmortem delivery, postmortem examination

Origin of postmodern

First recorded in 1945–50; post- + modern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for post-modern

It took artist and critic Peter Plagens a long time to come around to the post-modern work of Bruce Nauman.
The Artist Who Gets Away With Everything|Justin Jones|May 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Blasim is not the kind of post-modern absurdist who trades in forced, inconsequential whimsy.
Iraq, Terror, and the Surreal: Hassan Blasim’s ‘The Corpse Exhibition’|Brian Van Reet|March 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So one can almost pity Gaga, who must be wondering, what post-modern line did I step over to deserve this?
Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Plagiarism Sin|Richard Rushfield|February 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And what brought her to the top of this zeitgeist pyramid were her unrivaled skills in the post-modern art of pastiche.
Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Plagiarism Sin|Richard Rushfield|February 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST

We may be witnessing in Iran the first example of a post-modern rebellion.
The Decade's First Revolution?|Gary Sick|January 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Think about how, in the post-modern, the condition and function of drawing change.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin
American football is possibly the first post-modern game in that it appropriates from the old for use in a new age.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for post-modern

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 Formspostmodernism, 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

Word Origin and History for post-modern

post-modern

adj.

also post-modern, post modern, by 1919, in frequent use from 1949, from post- + modern.

But it has been only during the later decades of the modern era -- during that time interval that might fairly be called the post-modern era -- that this mechanistic conception of things has begun seriously to affect the current system of knowledge and belief; and it has not hitherto seriously taken effect except in technology and in the material sciences. [Thorstein Veblen, "The Vested Interests and the Common Man," 1919]

So much for the misapplied theory which has helped set the artist's nerves a-quiver and incited him to the extremes of post modern art, literary and other. [Wilson Follett, "Literature and Bad Nerves," "Harper's," June 1921]

Of architecture from 1940s; specific sense in the arts emerged 1960s (see postmodernism).

postmodern

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of postmodern

Examples from the Web for post-modern

British Dictionary definitions for post-modern

postmodern

adjective

Word Origin and History for post-modern

post-modern