postmodern

[ pohst-mod-ern ]

/ poʊstˈmɒd ərn /

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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.

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Origin of postmodern

First recorded in 1945–50; post- + modern

Words nearby postmodern

postmillenarianism, postmillennial, postmillennialism, postminimalism, postmistress, postmodern, postmodernism, postmortem, postmortem examination, postnasal, postnasal drip

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use postmodern in a sentence

If I were ever asked to teach a class in postmodern art, I would hold up the entire meme as a signature example of the staggering creative force unleashed by the Great Digital Convergence.
We are awash in digital light|Chris Turner|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
By the 1980s, Cindy Sherman’s mercurial practice had made her a paragon of the postmodern.
The art of the photograph; the photograph as art|Michael Roth|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
The story of fluoridation reads like a postmodern fable, and the moral is clear: a scientific discovery might seem like a boon.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Brash, crass, and overflowing with wiseass attitude, he remains the ultimate postmodern superhero.
The King of Postmodern Cool Is Reborn in ‘Ash Vs. The Evil Dead’|Nick Schager|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Brash, crass, and sporting a perpetually raised eyebrow, Ash Williams remains the ultimate postmodern superhero.
The King of Postmodern Cool Is Reborn in ‘Ash Vs. The Evil Dead’|Nick Schager|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It’s arguably the best film of the ‘90s—a postmodern pop culture smorgasbord awash in nihilism and dripping with retro cool.
The Secrets of ‘Pulp Fiction’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary|Marlow Stern|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We Americans, as the postmodern conservative professor Peter Lawler has put it, refuse to see ourselves as mere "history fodder."
Meet The Democrats’ Secret Savior Against Cuomo Corporatism|James Poulos|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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