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Glite Dictionary
countercultural

countercultural

2 7.5
Opposing the main values and ways of life of most people
  • adjective
  • /ˌkaʊntərˈkʌltʃərəl/
: 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
1 9.3

Not following the usual beliefs or practices

opposes mainstream social values and practices rather than only formal doctrines
antitraditional
vscountercultural
1 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
480 6.0
countercultural
2 7.5
conventional
287 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.