The meaning of DECONSTRUCT is to examine (something, such as a work of literature) using the methods of deconstruction. How to use deconstruct in a sentence.

American literary critic and major proponent of deconstruction Barbara Johnson describes the approach in this way: The deconstruction of a text does not proceed by random doubt or generalized …

Feb 23, 2026 · The point of the deconstructive analysis is to restructure, or “displace,” the opposition, not simply to reverse it. For Derrida, the most telling and pervasive opposition is the one that treats …

Definition of 'deconstructive' deconstructive in British English (ˌdiːkənˈstrʌktɪv ) adjective of or relating to deconstruction

A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to …

To deconstruct is to take a text apart along the structural “fault lines” created by the ambiguities inherent in one or more of its key concepts or themes in order to reveal the equivocations or contradictions …

At its core, deconstruction argues that all texts and ideas are composed of a series of oppositions or binary pairs, such as good/evil, presence/absence, or male/female.

deconstructive, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

adjective Tending to deconstruct; of or relating to deconstruction. Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word deconstructive.

Adjective deconstructive (comparative more deconstructive, superlative most deconstructive) Tending to deconstruct; of or relating to deconstruction.