cancel culture

[ kan-suhl kuhl-cher ]

/ ˈkæn səl ˌkʌl tʃər /

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noun

the phenomenon or practice of publicly rejecting, boycotting, or ending support for particular people or groups because of their socially or morally unacceptable views or actions:Cancel culture can ruin careers, but it can also make a public figure think twice before posting controversial comments.

the shared attitudes and values within a particular segment of society that lead to such public rejection of particular people or groups:In a cancel culture, we appoint ourselves the arbiters of right and wrong.

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Origin of cancel culture

First recorded in 2015–20

Words nearby cancel culture

can buoy, Canby, canc., cancan, cancel, cancel culture, canceled check, cancellate, cancellation, cancellation law, cancellous

How to use cancel culture in a sentence

Now the energy that grew in 2020 is being undercut by hysteria over critical race theory, resistance to investigating the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, and the fight over so-called cancel culture.
Ibram X. Kendi on anti-racism, Juneteenth, and the reckoning that wasn’t|Fabiola Cineas|June 17, 2021|Vox
Recently, the horse trainer Bob Baffert even tried to blame cancel culture after his Kentucky Derby-winning horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for an illegal substance.
Outspoken conservative loses job over ‘problematic’ comments|Ben Terris|May 12, 2021|Washington Post
However unsuccessful, these early pickets against corporate giants served as the group’s first foray into cancel culture.
Conservatives have long embraced ‘cancel culture’|Lauren Lassabe|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
George Will’s 2021 Opening Day Baseball QuizThe MAD turn in our cancel culture battlesVenturing out into the post-covid world is definitely weird — and completely worth it
Insider trading indictment highlights contacts with Bloomberg reporter|Erik Wemple|April 1, 2021|Washington Post

In fact, my efforts to understand a small claim of cancel culture suggest that it’s less intentional but more pervasive than we realize.
Did Facebook ‘cancel Abe Lincoln’? The truth is complicated — and alarming.|Ron Charles|March 4, 2021|Washington Post
Charlie ridiculed my faith and culture and I died defending his right to do so.
The Muslim Cop Killed by Terrorists|Michael Daly|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I don't know why or who's doing it, but it's the legacy…and it's a legacy that is so important to the culture.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A lot of the culture around movies in the sci-fi/fantasy genre is about deconstructing them ad nauseam.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Whether he gets his full due in popular culture remains to be seen.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America|John Avlon|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If the oft-talked-about college “hook-up culture” could be embodied by a place, it would be Shooters.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In Cuba its culture commenced in 1580, and from this and the other islands large quantities were shipped to Europe.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The culture of expression is a very different thing from the artful imitation of the signs of feeling and purpose.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Yet a child coming under the humanising influences of culture soon gets far away from the level of the savage.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Its culture however was looked upon with the same disapproval by Charles II.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
It would be a modest guess that Accadian culture implied a growth of at least ten thousand years.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford