deconstruction
nounUK /diːkənˈstɹʌkʃən/
Etymology From de- + construction or deconstruct + -ion.
1
Human sciences, Literature, Media, Philosophy, Publishing, Sciences 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.
2
The destroying or taking apart of an object; disassembly.
- He shall be empowered to require the immediate deconstruction and re-execution to his satisfaction of any such work as may appear to him to have been executed improperly […]1865, John Blenkarn, Practical specifications of works executed in architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, page 47:
- A group of men demand a reform the beginning of which must be a work of deconstruction, if I may use such a word.1882 June 23, “Home Rule”, in The Nineteenth Century, page 859:
- Derived terms
- deconstructional, deconstructionism, deconstructionist
- Related terms
- deconstruct