From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishavant-gardeav‧ant-garde /ˌævɒŋ ˈɡɑːd◂ $ ˌævɑːŋ ˈɡɑːrd◂/ adjective 1 AMODERNavant-garde music, literature etc is extremely modern and often seems strange or slightly shocking an avant-garde play2 → the avant-garde
Examples from the Corpus
avant-garde• West Berlin's theatres are often avant-garde and experimental; those in the east have tended towards more classical interpretations.• His vision was riveted to one vanishing point on a particular horizon, and that was the story of avant-garde art.• an exhibition of work by avant-garde artists and sculptors• His paintings are rather too avant-garde for my tastes.• The relativist paradigm of the twentieth century has determined the form of our avant-garde literature.• Although she likes avant-garde music, Lydia also plays classical guitar and piano.• The 1900 Secession exhibition was significantly international, but still included only a minority of avant-garde paintings.• Olsson trained in the late 1970s at the University of Arizona, where she was part of the avant-garde Paradise Group.• But another scholar speculates that the figure was carved by a reclusive, avant-garde sculptor.• It is a moot point which of these avant-garde strategies has been the more effective.• I can teach, do my creative avant-garde work which I love, as well as dealing with clients and performing on stage.Origin avant-garde (1900-2000) French “vanguard” 