What does postmodern mean?
Postmodern describes the cultural, intellectual, and artistic outlook associated with postmodernism. In the arts and humanities, the term refers especially to approaches that reject the idea that there is one universal, stable meaning, objective truth, or continuous historical progress. Such works may mix genres, use fragmented or self-conscious narration, combine different historical periods, and invite audiences to question how reality and meaning are constructed. In architecture, postmodernism describes movements that revived historical forms and decorative elements while departing from the austerity of modernist design. In everyday use, postmodern can also mean strikingly contemporary or unconventional, although this looser sense does not necessarily carry the theoretical implications of the full term. The word is valuable because it identifies a major shift in how modern artists and thinkers understand culture, authority, history, and communication.
adjectiveRelating to or characteristic of postmodernism, especially a cultural or intellectual outlook that questions grand narratives, traditional authority, and the idea of an objective, universal truth. In the arts, it describes movements and works that developed after or challenged modernism.
- Relating to or characteristic of postmodernism, especially skepticism toward traditional authority, universal narratives, and claims of objective truth.
- In the arts, architecture, literature, and criticism, relating to movements and approaches that developed after or challenged modernism.
- Informally, very contemporary or fashionable in a style perceived as unconventional or unconventional in its treatment of established ideas.
"The novel combines historical fiction with postmodern techniques such as unreliable narration and self-conscious storytelling."
"The architect is known for an unmistakably postmodern style that combines historical references with playful exaggeration."
"Her postmodern novel disrupts the reader's expectations by shifting between genres and questioning the reliability of its narrator."
Postmodernism turned suspicion itself into an artistic style: it often mixes genres, blurs boundaries, and makes the viewer question how meaning is created.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does postmodern come from?
The word combines the prefix post-, meaning “after,” with modern, from Latin modernus, meaning “of the present.” Its early development referred to a position or period after modern approaches, and it later became closely associated with literary, artistic, architectural, and philosophical movements in the late 20th century. Its meaning expanded from a broad historical label to denote characteristic features of postmodern culture and thought.
Related word forms
How postmodern is actually used
Postmodern is most common in the arts, humanities, architecture, and cultural criticism. It can be used more loosely to mean contemporary or unconventional, but that use may sound dismissive or imprecise.
Easily confused with postmodern
Modern generally refers to the present or to the period from the late Middle Ages onward, whereas postmodern describes a later cultural and intellectual condition that questions or reacts against modern ideas.