Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or characteristic of postmodernism: Describing ideas, styles, or works in art, literature, culture, or thought that react against or emerge from modernism, often characterized by skepticism, irony, or a blending of styles from different periods.

Usage

• The adjective "postmodernist" is used to describe theories, artworks, buildings, or cultural attitudes that align with the principles of postmodernism. It typically modifies nouns like "theory," "art," "architecture," "thought," or "critique."

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The gallery featured a collection of postmodernist paintings that challenged traditional narratives.
  • His postmodernist critique questions the very idea of objective truth.
  • That building is a prime example of postmodernist architecture, combining classical elements with modern materials.

Advanced Usage

• As a stylistic descriptor: Used to analyze cultural products that employ pastiche, intertextuality, or deconstruction.
  • The film is a postmodernist text, full of references to old Hollywood genres.
• In academic discourse: Often used in humanities disciplines to describe a school of thought or analytical approach.
  • She applies a postmodernist lens to examine power structures in the novel.

Variants and Related Words

• Postmodernism (n): The broad movement or set of ideas from which the adjective derives.
  • Postmodernism rejects grand theories and universal truths.
• Postmodern (adj): A more common synonym, often used interchangeably with "postmodernist," though sometimes seen as a broader term.
  • Postmodern literature often blends high and low culture.
• Postmodernity (n): The historical period or condition said to follow modernity.

Synonyms

• Postmodern: Of, relating to, or being any of various movements in reaction to modernism.
• Deconstructionist: Relating to a method of critical analysis that questions traditional assumptions. (Note: This is a specific strand within postmodernist thought.)

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Postmodernist theory: A body of critical theory informed by postmodernist thought.
  • The essay was grounded in postmodernist theory.
• Postmodernist sensibility: A particular attitude or way of perceiving the world associated with postmodernism.
  • The novel captures a postmodernist sensibility towards history.

Adjective

1. of or relating to postmodernism
   • postmodernist architecture