PERFORMATIVE Definition & Meaning

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

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Derived Forms

��ˈ�ڴǰ��پ��, adverb

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of performative¹

First recorded in 1950–55; perform + -ative

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

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To call public media radical because it makes room for ideas you might find objectionable is uninformed, delusional or mere performative partisan anti-wokeism.

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“If Lollapalooza didn’t single-handedly inaugurate what came to be known as ‘alternative nation,’ it went a long way toward codifying its ideals for a generation of teens and twentysomethings via a diverse mix of boundary-pushing musical acts, outsider fashion and art, political activism, and straight-up performative weirdness,” Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour write in their excellent oral history, “Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival.”

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“This is a performative act of cruelty ... to scare people into not coming, to scare people who are here without papers, to scare people away from protesting,” Paarlberg said.

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“In my opinion, it is beyond question inappropriate. I don’t think there’s any other way to characterize that than as performative advocacy,” Charles said.

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