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

Example Sentences

the counterculture of the hippies

He was part of the antiwar counterculture.

Recent Examples on the Web

While Mindy is swept into the world of celebrity, Ginger spirals into the counterculture of cults and drugs. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 10 May 2023

Born in Sacramento, California in 1934, Didion began making a name for herself in the late 1950s and early ’60s by penning essays that mediated on popular culture; hippie counterculture; personal struggles; and universal experiences like packing, moving and keeping a notebook. —Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2022

In Newman's hands, Harper is a figure of the counterculture. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 17 Mar. 2023

Those periods, both considered historic moments of catharsis following collective hardship, also saw sharp shifts in style: the former manifested in the glamor of Art Deco; the latter birthed hippies and counterculture. —Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2021

Those are moving statements, and no one should have been cheering this on more than the American counterculture. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2023

Certain years come to represent something more than the span of a calendar across 12 months: 2016, the beginning of the Trump era; 2001, forever associated with September 11 and the war on terrorism that followed; 1969, a year synonymous with counterculture. —Helena Fitzgerald, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2022

Bieber joins the likes of longtime stoner culture musicians like Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, and Snoop Dogg in putting his name behind cannabis products, but rather leaning more into counterculture, Bieber and Palms want his line to normalize using marijuana. —Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2021

The group also came under heat from the counterculture for something done routinely these days, appearing in Las Vegas. —Roy Trakin, Variety, 31 Mar. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above