deconstructionist
1
9.8
- noun
- /ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃənɪst/
- Specialized
:
deconstruccionista
- In the long term, Shakespeare will survive Stanley Fish, one of today’s leading literary deconstructionists.
- deconstructionists and Marxists
- deconstructionists and structuralists
- radical deconstructionists
Examples
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Not all of the practitioners of these arts identify themselves as deconstructionists, but they are engaged in the tasks of deconstruction, reconstruction, and ad hoc construction.
Academic text (1992) -
To my left, Gretchen, a deconstructionist, wrote about Jane Austen; to my right, Schuyler, a Lacanian feminist, toiled away on Melanie Klein.
Fiction book (2000) -
The deconstructionist premises discussed earlier make it easy to understand why Wilsmore reached this conclusion.
Academic text (1995) -
We need to be more constructive on this front, or we'll keep losing ground to the deconstructionists.
Blog text (21) -
Despite the best efforts of the deconstructionists, young people often venerate the Constitution.
Academic text (2002) -
As one deconstructionist admitted, even newspapers and almanacs can be deconstructed.
Academic text (1997) -
In his lengthy response to my memo, the sociologist revealed his deconstructionist bent: "What some might consider simple facts, others might view as complex ideological claims."
Academic text (1991) -
The deconstructionist approach allowed us to see new meanings in the classic novel.
-
At the conference, the deconstructionist explained how different interpretations can coexist.
-
Many students appreciate the insights a deconstructionist perspective brings to literature studies.
Synonyms
A person who looks at ideas or texts carefully to find their meaning
How Deconstructionist
Surface Forms
Morphology
deconstructionist = deconstruction (semi-transparent) = de + construction + ist
The derivation is straightforward ('deconstruction' + '-ist'), but because 'deconstruction' is a technical academic term the meaning may not be fully inferable to average learners.
Etymology
Deconstructionist as a noun names a person who follows the idea of de- ('undo') and construct ('build'), like the everyday word construction, so a deconstructionist 'takes apart' texts and ideas to find hidden beliefs and show that meanings can change.