demodernize · verb — to remove modern elements or amenities from, to cause to revert to a pre-modern state. It carries an Arena rating of 1267, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, demodernize ranks #3,930 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #6,060 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #9,415 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #9,428 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “demodernize” is a great word
To deliberately strip away contemporary features or advancements, rendering something less reliant on current technology and sensibilities. From the English prefix de- (indicating reversal or removal) + modernize (to make modern). Unlike "regress," which suggests an unthinking slide backward, or "simplify," which aims for ease and clarity, to demodernize is a targeted, often ideological, excision of the new. It is the deliberate removal of digital screens from a classroom, the replacement of synthetic fabrics with hand-spun wool, and the choosing of a paper map over a satellite-guided path—a quiet, willful refusal of the current age's velocity, a belief that what has been lost might yet be reclaimed.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From de- + modernize.
verb
- To remove modern elements or amenities from, to cause to revert to a pre-modern state.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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