(in literature and philosophy )文学和哲学 a theory that states that it is impossible for a text to have one fixed meaning, and emphasizes the role of the reader in the production of meaning compare structuralism解构理论(文本不可能只有一个固定含义,强调读者在意义发生过程中的作用) Word Originlate 19th cent. (originally in the general sense ‘taking to pieces’): from de- (expressing reversal) + construction.