ˈkyüˌbizəm noun
( -s )
Usage: sometimes capitalized
Etymology: French cubisme, from cube + -isme -ism — more at cube
1. fine art
a. : the typically monochromatic expression of natural forms in terms of simplified planes and lines and basic geometric shapes sometimes organized to depict the subject simultaneously from several points of view — compare analytical
b. : the arbitrary arrangement and interrelation of contours and fragments of contours on a picture surface without necessary reference to natural objects or their structure — compare synthetic
2. : a French abstract art movement embracing analytical cubism from about 1906 to 1912 and synthetic cubism from 1913 into the following decade
3. : a technique of writing that attempts to exploit abstract structural relationships of things by using bizarre associations and dissociations in imagery, the simultaneous evocation of several points of view toward the material, and other devices