deconstruction
/ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌdē-kən-ˈstrək-shən/ (ame, mw)
deconstruction — noun
- deconstructionsingular
- deconstructionsplural
1. a way of taking a text, image, or idea apart so you can see how its meaning was
a way of taking a text, image, or idea apart so you can see how its meaning was built and question an earlier reading of it.
Anjali's deconstruction of the ad changed how the class saw it.
deconstruction of + media text
During the seminar, Hao offered a deconstruction of the film poster.
offer a deconstruction of + visual text
The podcast's deconstruction of the speech exposed hidden fears about migration.
Quinn wrote a careful deconstruction of the poem for Friday's discussion.
By midnight, the group had finished its deconstruction of the campaign slogan.
- analysis
more general and not necessarily focused on hidden assumptions or unstable meaning
- close reading
usually stays nearer to wording details, while deconstruction pushes harder on tension and contradiction
- reinterpretation
focuses on the new reading reached, not the unpacking process itself
- surface reading
stays with the obvious meaning instead of pulling the structure apart
文法句型
a deconstruction of + text/idea/image
deconstruction of + text/idea/image
用法筆記
This sense usually appears with 'of' plus a text, image, speech, or idea. Distinguish it from sense 2, which names the academic theory itself; sense 1 is one act or piece of analysis.
常見錯誤
2. a school of literary and philosophical criticism that says a text never carries
a school of literary and philosophical criticism that says a text never carries one final meaning because each reading reshapes what it seems to say.
Our literature tutor linked deconstruction to questions about power and language.
deconstruction as a theory name
Tomás first encountered deconstruction in a graduate course on modern criticism.
encounter deconstruction in an academic course
By the 1980s, deconstruction had shaped many debates in film studies.
Élise finds deconstruction useful when novels resist one neat explanation.
Not every scholar accepts deconstruction as the best way to read poetry.
- poststructuralism
broader intellectual movement; deconstruction is one major approach within it
- critical theory
much wider umbrella that includes deconstruction but many other methods as well
文法句型
study deconstruction
deconstruction in + field
accept deconstruction as + noun phrase
用法筆記
This sense names the theory or movement, so it is usually treated as an uncountable label in course titles and criticism. Distinguish it from sense 1, which refers to one specific analysis or reading.