avant-gardes

noun

plural of avant-garde
as in vanguards
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts to the theater world's avant-garde, the melodrama seemed like a very old-fashioned play whose time had come and gone

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for avant-gardes
  1. vanguards
  2. pioneers
Noun
  • The once-insurgent vanguards who cast their first votes for Barack Obama have relinquished their cool factor to Gen Z, who will one day undergo the same process themselves as time continues its relentless march forward.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Pants-optional dressing was arguably the biggest fashion trend of 2025, with celebrity style vanguards like Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, and Sydney Sweeney opting to leave their pants at home in favor of cheeky outfits—and Eva Longoria is getting on the pantsless bandwagon.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 29 Dec. 2025
Definition of vanguards
Noun
  • White settlers and frontier pioneers built vast, fenceless cattle stations, battling harsh environments and disease, embracing a hard-living culture that exists to this day.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
  • The group helped define hip-hop’s golden age, became the first rap act inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and remains one of the genre’s most influential pioneers.
    — Ernie Suggs, AJC.com, 3 July 2026
Definition of pioneers
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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avant-garde
avant-gardes
avant-gardist
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Cite this Entry

“Avant-gardes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avant-gardes. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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