cancel culture

noun

: the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling (see cancel entry 1 sense 1e) as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure

For those of you who aren't aware, cancel culture refers to the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today. This practice of "canceling" or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

—Demetria Slyt

At a Republican National Convention where speakers' rage about cancel culture has been clear, former Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann used his speaking slot to introduce himself as "the teenager who was defamed by the media."

—Hunter Woodall

Cancel culture is supported as a tool to stop offensive and harmful behavior, while others find it problematic and toxic.

—Elise Krumholz

cancel culture warriors

the cancel culture movement

also : the people who engage in or support this practice

I have to admit that I'm not opposed to the majority of legacies, groups of people, and trends being scrutinized by the cancel culture. In fact, the response to many of the ideologies and personalities that have been "cancelled" is, in most cases, long, long overdue. But I have a few concerns …

—Brad Peters

Examples of cancel culture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The superstar comedian’s Netflix standup comedy specials The Closer (2021) and The Dreamer (2023) included transgender jokes around themes of cancel culture leading to backlash from members of the LGBTQ community and GLAAD, among others. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026

During one rant against cancel culture and its pernicious tendency to smear the innocent, Tillman brings up Joseph McCarthy as a prime example of a person whose reputation was unfairly destroyed. —Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026

Nearly all get delivered by McKellen’s Julian, waving a champagne coupe while monologuing about humidifiers, cancel culture and a doctor who smells like radishes. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

His American breakthrough, Dream Scenario, a movie about a man who appears in everyone’s dreams through no fault of his own, was a condemnation of cancel culture in America. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2016, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cancel culture

• agriculture
• apiculture
• aquaculture
• counterculture
• floriculture
• horticulture
• mariculture
• monoculture
• sericulture
• silviculture
• viticulture
• arboriculture