as in progressive
being or employing the latest concepts, styles, or techniques
a very avant-garde artist whose works wouldn't even be considered art by many traditionalists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in vanguard
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts
to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of avant-garde
La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
British-Iraqi Zaha Hadid evolved traditional architecture by breaking convention, leveraging innovation and technology to create fluid, dynamic and avant-garde buildings.
—Anita Nelson, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
The Ann Arbor Film Festival (which returns March 24-29, 2026) was founded in 1963 and is globally recognized for its avant-garde theme.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Adjective
The exhibit is the first comprehensive exploration of Katz’s collaborations with choreographers, dancers and members of avant-garde theater ensembles over six decades, showcasing rare archival materials, major sets and paintings and previously unexhibited sketches.
—La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
British-Iraqi Zaha Hadid evolved traditional architecture by breaking convention, leveraging innovation and technology to create fluid, dynamic and avant-garde buildings.
—Anita Nelson, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
Numerous precedents for Thomson’s approach can be cited from the annals of the avant-garde and/or underground, including such works as Wallace Berman’s Aleph, 1956–66; Stan Brakhage’s Mothlight, 1963; and Tony Conrad’s The Flicker, 1966.
—Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
The Ann Arbor Film Festival (which returns March 24-29, 2026) was founded in 1963 and is globally recognized for its avant-garde theme.
—Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for avant-garde
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avant-garde
Adjective
-
The Mynatts are among the rising ranks of parents and caregivers frustrated by one-size-fits-all schooling who are seeking something more aligned with their values and viewpoints—whether progressive or conservative.—
Kerry McDonald,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In the 1990s, Bill was decades of biblical study away from that progressive stance.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Waymo’s self-driving cars are a vanguard of this movement, a vehicle that can perceive its surroundings and make decisions in real time.—
Divyaditya Shrivastava,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Behrman successfully pitched his boss at Columbia Masterworks a new series, called Music of Our Time, showcasing the classical vanguard and its potential intersections with the longhair rock market.—
William Robin,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In developing hypertension notifications, Apple used advanced machine learning and training data from across multiple studies.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In August, the president announced a deal between the federal government and Nvidia, allowing the American chip producer to sell advanced semiconductors to Chinese buyers in exchange for a 15% cut of the profits.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But now European and American scientists are exploring whether the first human Martians could find refuge via dormant volcanos scattered across the Red Planet, inside lava tubes that criss-cross the Mars underground.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Sibiya said the men had been killed by gas underground, their bodies carried out of the mine by colleagues and left for the police to find.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Hiring him would be the most conventional aspect of a very unconventional media strategy.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
With an unconventional research approach, a new screenwriter and an unestablished director, so much of the film was a leap of faith.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Thomas Schumacher, a pioneering force for nearly 40 years behind Disney Theatrical Group‘s reign as a top Broadway and international stage presence, will depart the company at the end of the month, Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment, announced to staff today.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
3 Sep. 2025
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Abbie Hills, 29, is a pioneering talent agent who has built her business around representing actors and actresses with disabilities.—
Elaine Pofeldt,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Jim Rinnert was the longtime art director for In These Times magazine and a theater enthusiast who co-wrote an award-winning multimedia theatrical work based on the writings of avant-grade theater and cinema artist Antonin Artaud.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Aug. 2025
-
The product of a multinational household — daughter of a West African percussionist and a Swedish designer, stepdaughter of avant-jazz trumpeter Don Cherry — this year's most daring Best New Artist nominee went on to join several abrasive and ear-shattering British punk bands in the early '80s.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Information operations and psychological warfare are a key component of modern war — and arguably nowhere is this truer than in the Israel-Islamist conflict.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Watch a modern student tackle an assignment.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avant-garde. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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