counterculture

noun

coun·​ter·​cul·​ture ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌkəl-chər 

: a culture with values and mores that run counter to those of established society

countercultural

ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈkəlch-rəl 

-ˈkəl-chə-

adjective

counterculturalism

ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈkəlch-rə-ˌli-zəm 

-ˈkəl-chə-

noun

counterculturist

ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈkəlch-rə-list 

-ˈkəl-chə-

noun

Examples of counterculture in a Sentence

the counterculture of the hippies

He was part of the antiwar counterculture.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the 1960s and 1970s, as the youth market exploded and memories of war faded, advertising campaigns for German companies such as Volkswagen promoted their products as symbols of the counterculture. —Robert M. Ehrenreich, JSTOR Daily, 24 Sep. 2025

The counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s would be proud. —Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025

The legendary counterculture singer, who performed at Kepler’s in the 1950s and ’60s, will be in conversation with Kimberly Ford, whose literary seminars are a Kepler’s staple. —Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025

This was a city already written into outdoor lore, where counterculture and endurance have long braided together. —Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for counterculture

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