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Glite Dictionary
countercultural

countercultural

3 7.5
Opposing the main values and ways of life of most people
  • adjective
  • /ˌkaʊntərˈkʌltʃərəl/
translation icon : contracultural
  • The artist's work is often seen as countercultural, reflecting beliefs that oppose mainstream ideals.
  • countercultural movement
  • countercultural values
  • countercultural practices

Scaling the unscalable is always the answer once you hit attrition and it's super countercultural to people that are quant oriented.

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Examples

  • As a form of cultural history, the New Historicism is always countercultural.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many Republicans seemed to share this image of King as a countercultural rebel, but in turn condemned him for it.

    Academic text (2003)

  • For the Church to function as a countercultural alternative, its identity and voice must be strong and clear.

    Academic text (2010)

  • We are called to be countercultural in the desire to build a better culture.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Only then, seniors, can you have the kind of truly countercultural impact for which you have been trained.

  • Now more than ever, the church needs to step up and reclaim its voice as a countercultural leader.

    Blog text (16)

  • His teaching wasn't cultural; it was countercultural.

    Academic text (2007)

  • But it also involved a countercultural rejection of the idols of endless wage production or of endless consumption.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Benedict's theology, centered on a relation to God in Christ, aims to bolster the countercultural voice of the Catholic Church against modernizing trends in European culture.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Many young people today embrace a countercultural lifestyle that challenges societal norms.

Synonyms

untraditional
vscountercultural
3 5.3

Not following usual ways or customs

opposes mainstream norms actively rather than merely avoiding old ways
heterodoxical
vscountercultural
  • Formal
9.3

Not following the usual beliefs or practices

opposes mainstream social values and practices rather than only formal doctrines
antitraditional
vscountercultural
7.6

Not supporting traditional ideas and old ways of doing things

rejects dominant social values more widely, not only long-held customs
unconformist
vscountercultural
8.2

Not following the usual rules or ways that most people accept

refuses mainstream values more directly as a cultural stance

How Countercultural

radical
462 6.0
countercultural
3 7.5
conventional
175 2.8

Surface Forms

countercultural positive

Morphology

countercultural = cultural (transparent) = counter + culture + al

The word is formed by adding the productive prefix 'counter-' to 'cultural', so the meaning 'opposing mainstream culture' is straightforward.

Etymology

Countercultural is made of counter- meaning 'against' and culture meaning 'the shared way of life'. So a countercultural idea or group goes 'against' the usual way most people live.