postmodern

adjective

post·​mod·​ern ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dərn 

nonstandard -ˈmä-d(ə-)rən

1

: of, relating to, or being an era after a modern one

postmodern times

a postmodern metropolis

2

a

: of, relating to, or being any of various movements in reaction to modernism that are typically characterized by a return to traditional materials and forms (as in architecture) or by ironic self-reference and absurdity (as in literature)

b

: of, relating to, or being a theory that involves a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history, or language

postmodern feminism

postmodernism

ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dər-ˌni-zəm 

noun

postmodernist

ˌpōs(t)-ˈmä-dər-nist 

adjective or noun

postmodernity

ˌpōs(t)-mə-ˈdər-ne-tē 

-mä-

also -ˈder-

noun

Examples of postmodern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In those heady decades of postmodern language-play and seductive irresolution, claims for literature as a force for truth and justice would likely be dismissed, with a smirk, as humanist pieties. —Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026

By the ‘80s, the garden was gone, replaced by a pavilion by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer — a postmodern Mesopotamian gate with glass blocks and undulating turquoise handrails. —Bloomberg, 24 Apr. 2026

The bright white, postmodern Miami-area house made famous in Brian De Palma’s Scarface is on the market, according to reports from The Miami Herald and others. —Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026

There was this postmodern urge to do things differently. —Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for postmodern

• premodern
• modern