Modality, n. Those aspects of a thing which relate to its mode, or manner or state of being, as distinct from its substance or identity; the non-essential aspect or attributes of a concept or entity. Also: a particular quality or attribute denoting the mode or manner of being of something. — OED

Don't ever recall hearing it used in speech, or for that matter seeing it in print outside post-Modernist cultural criticism. Then, within the past few weeks, it's all over NPR, most recently in this painful episode. Urgh, after the Thesaurus, nothing corrupts the language more than Philosophy. I hope to never hear it uttered again.