modern
Noun pluralmoderns
Pluralmoderns
- 1Belonging to the present time or recent times, not to long ago.
Like comparing a brand-new phone with one made a hundred years ago.
She lives in a modern house with big glass windows.
Modern phones can do far more than the old ones did.
Similarcontemporary, current, new
Oppositeancient, old, traditional, old-fashioned
Note
- 2Belonging to the time in history after the Middle Ages, from about the year 1500 up to now.
Our modern history class starts after the Middle Ages, around the year 1500.
The modern age brought factories, railroads, and big cities.
UsageOften in modern history and early modern (about 1500 to 1800).
Oppositeancient
Note
- 3A person who lives in present-day times, not in the past.
We moderns can hardly imagine life without electric light.
Most moderns have never had to grow their own food.
UsageUsually we moderns or the moderns.
Oppositeancient
Note
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It goes back to the Latin word modo, which means "just now." From that came Late Latin modernus, and then Middle French moderne.