premodern

American  

[pree-mahd-ern] / ˌpriˈmɑd ərn /

adjective

1. of or relating to any period before the modern era.

2. of or relating to any present-day culture that has not adopted modern values, technology, etc.

3. (in the arts and philosophy) relating to or characteristic of the period before the dominance of modernism.

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noun

premoderns plural

1. a person who lived during a period before the modern era.

2. a person whose work in the arts or philosophy is characteristic of the period before the dominance of modernism.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• premodernism
  noun
• premodernist
  noun
• premodernity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• premoderns
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

premodern

Inevitable are thoughts of ancient Stonehenge, or perhaps primordial cairns marking trails or burial grounds in premodern societies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025

This mimamoru approach has its roots in a premodern concept of nature, according to Professor Yosuke Hirota at the Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences of Osaka Metropolitan University.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024

Or, put another way, How much premodern evidence is needed to prove a modern theory?

From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2023

Although premodern people did not understand these extraordinary environmental shifts, their lives were no less affected by them.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Saying that ancient foragers were probably animists is like saying that premodern agriculturists were mostly theists.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari