the avant-garde
noun/ði ˌævɒ̃ ˈɡɑːd/
/ði ˌævɑ̃ː ˈɡɑːrd/
(from French)- [singular] new and very modern ideas in art, music or literature that are sometimes surprising or shock people
- He was a promoter of the avant-garde.
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- [singular + singular or plural verb] a group of artists, etc. who introduce new and very modern ideas
- They claim that the avant-garde has/have now become absorbed into the mainstream.
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting the vanguard of an army): from French, literally ‘vanguard’. Current senses date from the early 20th cent.
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the avant-garde