counterculture

[ koun-ter-kuhl-cher ]

/ ˈkaʊn tərˌkʌl tʃər /

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noun

the culture and lifestyle of those people, especially among the young, who reject or oppose the dominant values and behavior of society.

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Origin of counterculture

First recorded in 1965–70; counter- + culture

OTHER WORDS FROM counterculture

coun·ter·cul·tur·al, adjectivecoun·ter·cul·tur·ist, coun·ter·cul·tur·al·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use counterculture in a sentence

It’s a lavishly illustrated 50-year anniversary look at drag and the counterculture, and it’s absolutely for grown-ups.
Holiday gifts for the reader on your list|Terri Schlichenmeyer|December 10, 2020|Washington Blade
Sony Pictures Entertainment has put out some of the most countercultural, anti-authoritarian movies of the past century.
Sony: Hollywood’s Most Subversive Studio Under Attack|Marlow Stern|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But with LSD, because it was countercultural, and because it was used as an experimental drug, it was not marketed properly.
Frances McDormand on 'Olive Kitteridge,' Dropping LSD, and Her Beef With FX's 'Fargo'|Marlow Stern|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Until that equation tips, individual Republicans may break ranks on gay rights, but the party remains a countercultural bastion.
Red America’s Anti-Gay Backlash|Jonathan Rauch|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Every decade seems to demand its own unique countercultural vanguard, and hipsters have delivered in style.
Dave Eggers, Arcade Fire and Other Hipsters Shun the Internet|James Poulos|September 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One outward-focused and attuned to external valuations, the other more independent, rebellious, and countercultural.
The New Cool: Can Coolness Be Studied Like a Science?|Jesse Singal|June 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for counterculture

counterculture

/ (ˈkaʊntəˌkʌltʃə) /

noun

an alternative culture, deliberately at variance with the social norm

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for counterculture

counterculture

A protest movement by American youth that arose in the late 1960s and faded during the late 1970s. According to some, young people in the United States were forming a culture of their own, opposed to the culture of Middle America. (See hippies and Woodstock.)