avant-garde

1 of 2

noun

ˌä-ˌvän(t)-ˈgärd How to pronounce avant-garde (audio)
ˌa-;
ə-ˈvänt-ˌgärd;
ˌa-ˌvōⁿ-ˈgärd
ˌa-ˌvȯn(t)-ˈgärd
Synonyms of avant-garde
: an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts
the avant-garde in the film industry
avant-gardism noun
avant-gardist noun

avant-garde

2 of 2

adjective

: of or relating to an avant-garde
avant-garde writers
an avant-garde filmmaker

Examples of avant-garde in a Sentence

Noun to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone Adjective a very avant-garde artist whose works wouldn't even be considered art by many traditionalists
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
The show, which featured a sizzling performance by Walton Goggins, as an authoritarian vigilante, was an avant-garde breakthrough for television. Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026 Tezuka 100th Anniversary Project The Book of Human Insects, directed by Ken Ninomiya, celebrating one of most avant-garde works of the ‘God of Manga’ Osamu Tezuka. Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 17 May 2026
Adjective
The show, which featured a sizzling performance by Walton Goggins, as an authoritarian vigilante, was an avant-garde breakthrough for television. Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026 And then there’s some really exciting kind of avant-garde science to rejuvenate and basically reverse aging that’s in the biotech field. Torie Bosch, STAT, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for avant-garde

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

French, vanguard

First Known Use

Noun

1849, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of avant-garde was in 1849

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Cite this Entry

“Avant-garde.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avant-garde. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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