noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/diːkənˈstɹʌkʃən/
UK:/diːkənˈstɹʊkʃən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:D IY0 K AH0 N S T R AH1 K SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A philosophical theory of textual criticism; a form of critical analysis that emphasizes inquiry into the variable projection of the meaning and message of critical works, the meaning in relation to the reader and the intended audience, and the assumptions implicit in the embodied forms of expression.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The destroying or taking apart of an object; disassembly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: deconstructionism
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: philosophical doctrine, philosophical theory
History
Etymology
From de- + construction or deconstruct + -ion.
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
解構 /解构
(jiěgòu)
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Greek:
αποδομισμός
(apodomismós)
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Kazakh:
деконструкция
(dekonstruksiä)
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Portuguese:
desconstrucionismo
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Portuguese:
desconstrução
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Romanian:
deconstrucție
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Russian:
деконструкция
(dekonstrukcija)
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Swedish:
dekonstruktion
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
Turkish:
yapısöküm
— a philosophical theory of textual criticism
