modernist

[ mod-er-nist ]

noun

1. a person who follows or favors modern ways, tendencies, etc.
2. a person who advocates the study of modern subjects in preference to ancient classics.
3. an adherent of modernism in theological questions.

adjective

1. of modernists or modernism.

Other Words From

• anti·modern·ist noun adjective
• hyper·modern·ist noun
• pro·modern·ist adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of modernist¹

First recorded in 1580–90; modern + -ist

Example Sentences

Nahmad is the son of a billionaire art dealer; his family has one of the world’s largest collections of impressionist and modernist art.

From Slate

Then came “Virginia,” the play about modernist writer Virginia Woolf in 1981.

From Los Angeles Times

This urban housing for the middle class built in collaboration with the city’s unions is another Moses legacy, though its spare, modernist aesthetics repelled preservationists of the Jacobs school.

From Slate

"Van Gogh, here, is the first completely rule-breaking modernist and he just gets ever more radical," he said.

From BBC

After months of searching, they stumbled upon a 1953 ranch house in Van Nuys designed by modernist architect Kenneth Lind.

From Los Angeles Times