Modernism Vocabulary

Objective Adjective existing independently of perception or an individual's conceptions

Subjective Adjective existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought

Universal Adjective applicable everywhere or in all cases; general

Inaccessible Adjective not accessible; unapproachable.

Nihilism Noun the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.

Apathy Noun absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement

Absolutism Noun any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.absolute

Relativism Noun The doctrine that no ideas or beliefs are universally true but that all are, instead, “relative” — that is, their validity depends on the circumstances in which they are applied.

Skepticism Noun doubt or unbelief with regard to a religion, especially Christianity.

Highbrow Adjective intellectual, scholarly, cultured; bookish, snobbish, pseudointellectual.

Lowbrow Adjective Unsophisticated, uncultured, vulgar

Dehumanization Verb to deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individualityhuman

Impotent Adjective not potent; lacking power or ability; without force or effectiveness; utterly unable (to do something).

Stream-of-consciousness Adjective a manner of writing in which a character's thoughts or perceptions are presented as occurring in random form, without regard for logical sequences, syntactic structure, distinctions between various levels of reality, or the like:

Unreliable narrator Noun a narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromisednarrator

Mimesis Noun imitation of the real world, as by re-creating instances of human action and events or portraying objects found in nature:

Apparition Noun an appearance, esp of a ghost or ghostlike figure

Nationalism Noun exaggerated, passionate, or fanatical devotion to a national community