postmodern

American  

[pohst-mod-ern] / poʊstˈmɒd ərn /

adjective

1. 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.

2. extremely modern; cutting-edge.

   postmodern kids who grew up on MTV.

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postmodern British  

/ pəʊstˈmɒdən /

adjective

1. (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

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Other Word Forms

• postmodernism
  noun
• postmodernist
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of postmodern

First recorded in 1945–50; post- + modern

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

postmodern

Besides, I’ve never been a big fan of the main building’s postmodern agglomeration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Our postmodern pope’s meta-callback to another papal deep-cut.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

"We started with Michael Boyd at the Tron pantomime and we wanted to get the essence of that postmodern, Scottish music hall culture and put it on a big stage," he says.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

The novel, which is most often labeled postmodern in its themes, was a breakout success, later becoming one of Hungary’s most celebrated works.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

A postmodern touch in our domestic cinema, pointing up artifice, calling attention to mechanics.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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