performative

[ per-fawr-muh-tiv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

Philosophy, Linguistics. (of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression “I promise,” that performs the act of promising. Compare constative ( def 1 ).
relating to the performance of behaviors associated with a particular social role or identity:
He reflects on his mother's performative femininity, remembering the times he witnessed her adorning herself with eyeshadow, bracelets, and belts.
relating to ways of behaving that exhibit a socially acceptable belief, trait, or quality, often making a superficial impression:
Performative wokeness enables privileged people to reap the social benefits of wokeness without actually undertaking the necessary legwork to combat inequality.

noun

a performative utterance. Compare constative ( def 2 ).speech act ( def ).

performative

/ ��əˈ��ɔː��ə��ɪ�� /

adjective

1. denoting an utterance that constitutes some act, esp the act described by the verb. For example, I confess that I was there is itself a confession, and so is performative in the narrower sense, while I'd like you to meet … (effecting an introduction) is performative only in the looser sense See also locutionary act illocution perlocution
2. ( as noun )
  that sentence is a performative
1. denoting a verb that may be used as the main verb in such an utterance
2. ( as noun )
  ``promise'' is a performative

Discover More

Derived Forms

��ˈ�ڴǰ��پ��, adverb

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of performative¹

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“But it’s been interesting to work with real dancers and learn about their career and all the complex things they do. The body is telling a story. I now understand how hard each movement is because ballet is not like gymnastics or a performative art. It can be more graceful and subtle and delicate but so complicated too.”

From

Earth to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin: This week’s fleeting space launch featuring an all-female crew was a wasteful, performative and tone-deaf endeavor reminiscent of the “Hunger Games” dystopia — according to author, model and actor Emily Ratajkowski.

From

Rickey, all forced smiles and performative boyishness, wants to charm his way into blissful indecision, while Glenn, a classically Cera-esque misfit of unearned confidence, talks himself into an illusion of control over his destiny.

From

Last fall, I bought a used film camera, and now I slip real photographs of real restaurants into my letters — the kind of personal touch that feels miles away from the performative posts on Instagram: "Hey, I ate at this place, and it made me think of you."

From

The answer is that Republicans’ endless harping on patriotism has been a performative camouflage and effective inoculation against un-American acts.

From

performance test performing

Browse