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yé-yé

American  
[ye-ye] / ˈyɛˈyɛ /

adjective

Informal.
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the rock-'n'-roll music, fashions, entertainment, etc., of the 1960s, especially in France.

  2. of or relating to the people associated with these trends.

  3. having exuberance, optimism, and enthusiasm for current fads, as a teenager or young adult.


Etymology

Origin of yé-yé

1960–65; < French < English yeah-yeah

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I also love the yé-yé girls of the 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025

In 2017, Paley collaborated with Victoria Meyer, an environmental scientist at Southern California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on a set of songs inspired by the ’60s French pop style known as yé-yé.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

As the decades progressed, her muse pushed her away from the commercially driven yé-yé sound toward pop-focused psychedelia, folk-rock and meditative adult pop.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2024

Music swerves from Wire and the Clash to proto-punks like the yé-yé singer Karina.

From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2015

Some of the music maintains a precarious balance between chanson and yé-yé, which sounded hopelessly corny at the time, but now has a curious charm.

From The Guardian • Aug. 26, 2010

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