performative

American  

[per-fawr-muh-tiv] / pərˈfɔr mə tɪv /

adjective

1. Philosophy, Linguistics. (of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression “I promise,” that performs the act of promising.

2. relating to the performance of behaviors associated with a particular social role or identity.

   He reflects on his mother's performative femininity, remembering the times he witnessed her adorning herself with eyeshadow, bracelets, and belts.

3. relating to ways of behaving that exhibit a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality, often making a superficial impression.

   Performative wokeness enables privileged people to reap the social benefits of wokeness without actually undertaking the necessary legwork to combat inequality.

---

noun

1. a performative utterance.

performative British  

/ pəˈfɔːmətɪv /

adjective

1. 1. denoting an utterance that constitutes some act, esp the act described by the verb. For example, I confess that I was there is itself a confession, and so is performative in the narrower sense, while I'd like you to meet … (effecting an introduction) is performative only in the looser sense See also locutionary act illocution perlocution

   2. ( as noun )

      that sentence is a performative

2. 1. denoting a verb that may be used as the main verb in such an utterance

   2. ( as noun )

      ``promise'' is a performative

---

Other Word Forms

• performatively adverb

Etymology

Origin of performative

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

Example Sentences

For a half second, it dangles from his lips, a sight so much more compelling than Whatshername behind us, who, when I asked how #LandBack fit into what she was saying about socioeconomic development, replied, “Young lady, I’m looking for more than performative hashtag questions. If you’re going to invoke a Native American movement in a conversation, you should first do your homework and learn what it’s all about.”

From Literature

There is no soldierly swagger about him, no hint of performative military machismo, but he is nonetheless clearly driven to transform the German military and place it at the heart of the new power map of the continent.

From BBC

More like performative nonsense to indoctrinate fans.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sparkling and rebarbative, abrasive and relentlessly performative, it is, in other words, classic Will Self.

From The Wall Street Journal

I could get into some kind of rant about how this tempest is emblematic of performative tough guy culture, and how we are in a high-water mark of performative tough guy culture, but that would start to sound like something important and urgent about our times.

From The Wall Street Journal