a technique of literary analysis that regards meaning as resulting from the differences between words rather than their reference to the things they stand for. Different meanings are discovered by taking apart the structure of the language used and exposing the assumption that words have a fixed reference point beyond themselves
Derived forms
deconstructionist (ˌdeconˈstructionist)
noun, adjective
deconstruction in American English
(ˌdikənˈstrʌkʃən)
noun
a method of literary analysis originated in France in the mid-20th cent. and based on a theory that, by the very nature of language and usage, no text can have a fixed, coherent meaning
Derived forms
deconstructionist (ˌdeconˈstructionist)
noun, adjective
Word origin
Fr déconstruction
Examples of 'deconstruction' in a sentence
deconstruction
These statistics speak more eloquently about the oppressive culture of sport than any sociological deconstruction.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We have seen the process of deconstruction and reconstruction in particular studies.
Lee Harvey Critical Social Research (1990)
This process is one of deconstruction and reconstruction.
Lee Harvey Critical Social Research (1990)
They are elements which are drawn together in various ways in the process of deconstruction and reconstruction.
Lee Harvey Critical Social Research (1990)
The approach is like couture in that it's not deconstruction, but reconstruction.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Far be it from a column of this nature to attempt a sociological deconstruction of this week's deeply unsettling scenes on English streets.