deconstruction

[ dee-kuhn-struhk-shuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a philosophical and critical movement, starting in the 1960s and especially applied to the study of literature, that questions all traditional assumptions about the ability of language to represent reality and emphasizes that a text has no stable reference or identification because words essentially only refer to other words and therefore a reader must approach a text by eliminating any metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions through an active role of defining meaning, sometimes by a reliance on new word construction, etymology, puns, and other word play.

deconstruction

/ ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃən /

a technique of literary analysis that regards meaning as resulting from the differences between words rather than their reference to the things they stand for. Different meanings are discovered by taking apart the structure of the language used and exposing the assumption that words have a fixed reference point beyond themselves

Without any explanation we watch art restorers at work, and the painstaking, technical deconstruction of a Rembrandt.

The largest mass grave in America existed uneasily as both hallowed ground and deconstruction site.

The standout of the collection was the designer's deconstruction of standard jacket cuts.

She tends to go toward the Lady Gaga deconstruction, Alexander McQueen type of just out-there kind of costume.

Game of Thrones is a show that provokes—or even forces—viewer evaluation, deconstruction, and discussion.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse