anti-modernist
adjective
an·ti-mod·ern·ist ˌan-tē-ˈmä-dər-nist 
ˌan-tī-
ˌan-tī-
variants or less commonly antimodernist
: opposed to the values of modernism or modernity
… mixture of nativist ideology, anti-modernist sentiment, political isolationism, and frankly stated racialism …—
Hilton Kramer
Hilton Kramer
Prohibition, like nativism and antisemitism, tapped into deeply rooted antimodernist trends in American life; it attempted to turn back the cultural clock …—Jonathan D. Sarna
Jonathan D. Sarna
anti-modernist noun
or less commonly antimodernist
The antimodernists prevailed, perhaps fortunately, given the deplorable standards of new French architecture. —Gerald Clarke
Gerald Clarke
anti-modernism noun
or less commonly antimodernism
ˌan-tē-ˈmä-dər-ni-zəm,
ˌan-tī-
This left-wing anti-modernism is interesting or not, depending on your point of view. —Stephen Holmes
Stephen Holmes
Rather than assume the postmodern position, he has been willing to take up a very sophisticated stance of antimodernism. —Thomas Bender
Thomas Bender
Examples of anti-modernist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The priestly fraternity, named in honor of the anti-modernist Pope St. Pius X, was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre as a response to liturgical reforms made in the Second Vatican Council (also known as Vatican II). —Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2025 Due to the anti-modernist policy after the 1930s, scores of paintings were confiscated from museums and institutions and put in special secret repositories, and the idea was to destroy all of them. —George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2024 These moves have all weakened the Catholic anti-modernist project. —R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2025 Due to the anti-modernist policy after the 1930s, scores of paintings were confiscated from museums and institutions and put in special secret repositories, and the idea was to destroy all of them. —George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2024 These moves have all weakened the Catholic anti-modernist project. —R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Anti-modernist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/anti-modernist. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
