Generation X
- noun
- /ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən ɛks/
- The study compared 750 Generation X adults of divorced parents with 750 who grew up in intact homes.
- boomers and Generation X
- Generation X and baby boomers
- Generation X slacker
Examples
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Many people believe that Generation X has a unique perspective shaped by the transition from a pre-digital to a digital age.
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Tony Hsieh represents a unique cultural mindset that was born with Generation X.
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For a Generation X couple that has their first child here in 2012, the cost for a private ...
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Generation X is leading the fashion trend.
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Upon meeting someone, people in my generation (good ol' Generation X) will quickly ask, "What do you do for fun?"
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I'm a 30-something, Generation X poster child.
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Generation X parents continue to face the challenging uphill climb of saving for their children's college education.
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The members of Generation X often recall their childhoods filled with the rise of technology and new music genres.
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As a representative of Generation X, she often discusses the challenges faced by her peers in the workplace.
Synonyms
People born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s, often in the United States and Canada
Surface Forms
Morphology
generation + X
The noun 'generation' clearly signals a cohort of people born in the same era, so a learner who knows that word can infer this is a named cohort; however, 'X' is an arbitrary label with no lexical content about dates or characteristics. Therefore a B1 learner may recognise it as the name of a generation but cannot derive the specific time span or cultural meaning from the constituents alone.
Etymology
Generation X was made famous by writer Douglas Coupland, who used X like a sign for the 'unknown' to show a group that did not fit older labels. So Generation X now names the people born in the early 1960s to the late 1970s who often felt different from the baby boomers.