Definition

Noun: 1. The quality or condition of being modern; the state of being contemporary or up-to-date. It refers to the ideas, practices, or character associated with the present time or recent times, often implying a departure from tradition. 2. A modern characteristic, idea, or practice. (Often used in the plural: modernities).

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The architect's design was praised for its sleek modernity and innovative use of space.
  • The rapid modernity of the city's infrastructure left some of the older residents feeling disconnected.
  • The exhibition explores the tension between tradition and modernity in 20th-century art.

Advanced Usage

• "the condition of modernity": A phrase often used in sociology and philosophy to describe the social, cultural, and economic experience of the modern era, characterized by phenomena like industrialization, urbanization, and secularization.
  • Scholars debate the effects of the condition of modernity on individual identity.
• "multiple modernities": A concept acknowledging that the experience and expression of being modern are not singular but can take different forms in different cultural contexts.
  • The theory of multiple modernities challenges the idea of a single Western model of development.

Variants and Related Words

• Modern (adj): Relating to the present or recent times; characterized by up-to-date ideas, styles, or technology.
  • They live in a very modern apartment.
• Modernize (verb): To adapt something to modern needs or habits; to make modern.
  • The company plans to modernize its factory.
• Modernization (noun): The process of modernizing.
  • The modernization of the public transport system is long overdue.
• Modernism (noun): A style or movement in the arts that aims to break with classical and traditional forms, typically in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Literary modernism often features stream-of-consciousness narration.

Synonyms

• Contemporaneity: The state of being current or belonging to the same period.
• Currentness: The quality of being of the present time.
• Novelty: The quality of being new, original, or unusual. (Note: emphasizes newness, while emphasizes alignment with the current era.)
• Innovativeness: The quality of featuring new methods; advanced and original.

Antonyms

• Antiquity: The ancient past, especially the period before the Middle Ages.
• Obsolescence: The process of becoming obsolete or out-of-date.
• Traditionalism: The upholding or maintenance of tradition, especially resistance to change.

Noun

1. the quality of being current or of the present
   • a shopping mall would instill a spirit of modernity into this village