deconstruction
deconstruction Lexical Profile
deconstruction Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The act or process of breaking down a complex idea, tradition, or work into its constituent elements in order to reinterpret it or understand how it functions.
"The chef became famous for his creative deconstruction of classic French pastries into modern plated desserts."
A method of critical and philosophical analysis, associated with Jacques Derrida, that examines the internal contradictions, hidden assumptions, and instability of meaning within a text or conceptual system.
"The professor's lecture offered a thorough deconstruction of nineteenth-century colonial literature."
The selective, systematic dismantling of a building or physical structure in order to salvage and reuse its materials rather than demolishing it completely.
"The city council opted for the careful deconstruction of the historic warehouse so its timber and brickwork could be recycled."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often misused in casual contexts as a synonym for 'destruction'; however, deconstruction implies analytical dismantling or taking something apart to examine how it works, rather than simply ruining it.
• Rhymes for deconstruction
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French déconstruction, the term was popularized in the late 1960s by philosopher Jacques Derrida to translate Martin Heidegger's German concept of Destruktion (an analytical dismantling of philosophical tradition rather than physical ruin).