mod·ern·ism 
(mŏdər-nĭz′əm)
(mŏdər-nĭz′əm)n.
1.
a. Modern thought, character, or practice.
b. Sympathy with or conformity to modern ideas, practices, or standards.
2. A peculiarity of usage or style, as of a word or phrase, that is characteristic of modern times.
3. often Modernism The deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression that distinguish many styles in the arts and literature of the 1900s.
4. often Modernism A Roman Catholic movement, officially condemned in 1907, that attempted to examine traditional belief according to contemporary philosophy, criticism, and historiography.
modern·ist n.
mod′ern·istic adj.