modern

Syllables: mod·ernUK/ˈmɒd.ən//ˈmɑ.dɚn/

modern adjective: pertaining to a current or recent time and style; not ancient.

Adjective

modern (comparative moderner or more modern, superlative modernest or most modern or modernmost)

Pertaining to a current or recent time and style; not ancient.
- Our online interactive game is a modern approach to teaching about gum disease. Although it was built in the 1600s, the building still has a very modern look.
- But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

contemporary
Pertaining to the modern period (c.1800 to contemporary times), particularly in academic historiography.

Noun

modern (plural moderns)

Someone who lives in modern times.
- The only supernatural agents which can in any manner be allowed to us moderns, are ghosts; but of these I would advise an author to be extremely sparing.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC
- What the moderns could mean by their suppression of the final couplet's repeatings, cannot be conceiv'd […]1779, Edward Capell, John Collins, Notes and various readings to Shakespeare

modern meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

modern in Hindi

pertaining to the current time and style: आधुनिक ādhunik

modern in Tamil

புதுமை, தற்காலத்திய, அண்மைக் காலத்துக்குரிய, இக்கால, நவீனம், புத்தேள்

modern in Marathi

आधुनिक

modern in Urdu

modern, recent: جدید jadīd

More languagesFewer languages

modern in Bengali: আধুনিক adhunik
modern in Telugu: ఆధునికం ādhunikaṁ
modern in Malayalam: ആധുനിക ādhunika, ആധുനികം ādhunikaṁ
modern in Kannada: ಆಧುನಿಕ, ನವಕಾಲೀನ, ಇಂದಿನ, ಈಗಿನ
modern in Punjabi: ਆਧੁਨਿਕ ādhunik, ਅਜੋਕਾ ajokā
modern in Gujarati: આધુનિક ādhunik
modern in Odia: ଆଧୁନିକ ādhunika
modern in Nepali: आधुनिक
modern in Tagalog: moderno
modern in Arabic: عَصْرِيّ ʕaṣriyy, حَدِيث ḥadīṯ, مُعَاصِر muʕāṣir
modern in Indonesian: modern, mutakhir
modern in Persian: مدرن, امروزی emruzi, زمانوی zamānavi
modern in Vietnamese: hiện đại

Examples of modern in a sentence

But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
In short, it is the modern door for the modern garage—in step with the times.1930 May 31, “The "Overhead Door" for Garage-Factory-Warehouse”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 202, number 48, page 110:
In fact, he had created the conditions for the great horror of modern times.2018 June 14, Timothy Snyder, “How Did the Nazis Gain Power in Germany?”, in The New York Times:
Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:

All 40 example sentences with modern

Synonyms of modern

Antonyms

Forms of modern

Adjective
comparative	moderner
comparative	more modern
superlative	modernest
superlative	most modern
superlative	modernmost
Noun
plural	moderns

Origin of modern

From Middle French moderne, from Late Latin modernus; from Latin modo (“just now”), originally ablative of modus (“measure”); hence, by measure, "just now". See also mode.

Words formed from modern

Questions about modern

What does modern mean?: Modern means pertaining to a current or recent time and style; not ancient.
What is modern in Hindi?: Modern in Hindi is आधुनिक (ādhunik). See Modern meaning in Hindi.
How do you use modern in a sentence?: But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder.
What part of speech is modern?: Modern can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce modern?: Modern is pronounced /ˈmɒd.ən/ (UK).

Words near modern in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: modern (page history and authors); modern (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); modern (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); جدید (Urdu) (page history and authors); ആധുനിക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); modern (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਅਜੋਕਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); આધુનિક (Gujarati) (page history and authors); modern (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-modern.ogg.

Cite this entry: “modern.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/modern. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.