cultural appropriation

noun

: the adoption of cultural elements (such as clothing, customs, or hairstyles) of a group (usually a minority culture) by members of another group (usually a dominant culture) in a way that is exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical

Concerns over the cultural appropriation of a Native American sun symbol have led Madison [Wisconsin] officials to consider redesigning the city's flag, Mayor Paul Soglin said.

—Lexy Brodt

That's why cultural appropriation is so detrimental. It is giving us the message that we stole this from you, you can't have it anymore, but we are going to take it and profit off of it.

—Korina Emmerich, quoted in Rocky Mountain Collegian

Britain's Best Knitter sparked a 'cultural appropriation' row last week over its 'misrepresentation' of Fair Isle patterns in its first episode.

—Claire Elliot

Examples of cultural appropriation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Around 2016 and 2017, that started to change, as conversations around cultural appropriation pushed back against boho chic aesthetics that had long extracted from South Asian traditions without credit or context. —Pooja Mistry, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above