subgenre

noun

sub·​genre ˈsəb-ˌzhän-rə 

-ˌzhäⁿ-;

-ˌzhäⁿr;

-ˌjän-rə

variants or less commonly sub-genre

plural subgenres also sub-genres

: a genre that is part of a larger genre

The series is part of the booming "urban fantasy" subgenre, which features supernatural creatures interacting with ordinary humans in a contemporary city.

—Jennifer Schuessler

Examples of subgenre in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Although the film strays drastically from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a complex film that teeters between the psychological and supernatural horror subgenres. —Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Oct. 2025

Since its launch in 2012, the roguelike space and ‘spaceship management’ subgenres have seen more complex games arrive, yet none have captured FTL’s accessible, brutal, and supremely entertaining approach to tactical ship combat, space exploration, and ship operation. —Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025

Is this the beginning of the Julia Roberts Plays Herself subgenre? —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

The second subgenre of dystopian fiction are books that are more grounded in reality and offer a dark vision of what might actually happen if society goes down a particular trajectory. —Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above