incumbent adjective (NECESSARY). âº ânecessary: [+ to infinitive] It is incumbent upon (= ânecessary for) all of us to âcreate a âsafe âcommunity. (Definition of incumbent from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary Â© Cambridge University Press).ncumbent noun [C]. âº the âperson who has or had a âparticular âofficial âposition: the first/last/âprevious incumbent The âpresent incumbent (of the âpost) is âdue to âretire next âmonth. (Definition of incumbent from the Cambridge Advanced Learnerâs Dictionary & Thesaurus Â© Cambridge University Press).
Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition: Modernity. Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance.
Definitions and Characteristics of Modernity. Since the term Modern is used to describe a wide range of periods, any definition of modernity must account for the context in question. Modern can mean all of post-medieval European history, in the context of dividing history into three large epochs: Antiquity, Medieval, and Modern.