avant garde
8 synonyms and 5 antonyms for avant garde, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Strikingly new and experimental, especially in art, music, fashion or film, and ahead of what most people are used to.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. adjective
Strikingly new and experimental, especially in art, music, fashion or film, and ahead of what most people are used to.
“The gallery has a reputation for avant garde video work.”
Opposites
2. noun
The artists, writers or thinkers whose work breaks with established forms and points the way for others.
“He spent the 1960s on the fringes of the literary avant garde.”
Opposites
How to use avant garde
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Usually written with a hyphen, avant-garde, and often kept in italics in older texts. It can be admiring or faintly mocking depending on tone.
Etymology
From French avant-garde 'advance guard', the troops sent ahead of the main army, from avant 'before' and garde 'guard'.
Full origin of avant garde →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between avant garde and modern art?
Modern art names a broad historical period, roughly the 1860s to the 1970s, and includes work that was widely accepted in its day. Avant garde describes a stance rather than a period: art that deliberately breaks with prevailing conventions, which can happen in any era.
How do you pronounce avant garde?
Roughly av-on-GARD, keeping the French nasal in the first syllable and leaving the final e silent. English speakers commonly say a flatter av-ont-GARD, which is perfectly acceptable.