Definition

Adjective: 1. Relating to or characteristic of modern styles, ideas, or trends, especially those considered advanced or recent: It describes something that follows or embodies contemporary, often innovative, design, art, or thought, particularly from the 20th century onward. 2. Featuring the latest styles or techniques: It can imply a deliberate embrace of newness and a departure from traditional forms.

Usage

The adjective "modernistic" is used to describe objects, art, architecture, or ideas that are distinctly modern in style. It often carries a nuance of being consciously up-to-date or avant-garde. It is typically used attributively (before a noun).

Examples

• The gallery featured modernistic sculptures made from industrial materials.
• They bought a house with a modernistic facade of glass and steel.
• His modernistic approach to management focused on flat hierarchies and digital tools.
• The furniture's clean lines and lack of ornamentation gave it a modernistic feel.

Advanced Usage

• In Art & Design History: "Modernistic" is sometimes used to describe works associated with Modernism, a broad movement in the arts from the late 19th to mid-20th century that emphasized innovation, experimentation, and a break with the past.
  • The building is a prime example of modernistic architecture from the 1930s.
• As a stylistic descriptor with a slightly different connotation than "modern": While "modern" can mean simply "of the present time," "modernistic" often more specifically implies a style that is characteristic of the Modernist movement or a self-consciously modern aesthetic.

Variants and Related Words

• Modernism (n): A movement in the arts that aims to break with classical and traditional forms.
• Modernist (n/adj): (As a noun) a follower or practitioner of modernism; (as an adjective) relating to modernists or modernism.
• Modernize (v): To make something modern in style or function.
• Modernization (n): The process of making something modern.

Synonyms

• Contemporary: Belonging to or occurring in the present.
• Avant-garde: New and experimental ideas, especially in the arts.
• Innovative: Featuring new methods; advanced and original.
• Futuristic: Having or involving very modern technology or design.

Antonyms

• Traditional: Existing in or as part of a tradition; long-established.
• Classical: Of or relating to ancient Greek or Roman forms, or representing an exemplary standard within a traditional and long-established form.
• Old-fashioned: In or according to styles or types no longer current or common; not modern.
• Antiquated: Old-fashioned or outdated.

Adjective

1. relating to a recently developed fashion or style;
   • their offices are in a modern skyscraper
   • tables in modernistic designs