as in cultures
a group that has beliefs and behaviors that are different from the main groups within a culture or society
a subculture of local painters a subculture of poverty and crime
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Recent Examples of subcultures
There’s an image of New York City, calcified in film, memoir, and newsprint, of a city built on a foundation of scruffy subcultures, especially those communities grounded in the city’s hundreds of distinct diasporas.
—
Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2026
The series’ brief plunges into American subcultures are told without hand-holding or rigid structure; the point of the story often doesn’t reveal itself until the end — or perhaps days later.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Just as Season 1 was a sociological cross section of Asian-American Los Angeles and its many subcultures, Season 2 gets specific with another corner of Southern California.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
The Bay Area is home to extensive subcultures of people, many who have worked in tech, who have spent years debating, often online, whether the advancement of AI could threaten humanity.
—St. John Barned-Smith, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2026
For much of the 20th century in the United States, tattoos were associated with rebellion and criminality — linked to prisoners, gangs and subcultures, as well as servicemen like sailors and soldiers.
—Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Arabic carries ancient histories encompassing a myriad of subcultures and sustainable systems for the world.
—Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
Many of the Gen Z terms, language enthusiasts say, once permeated Black subcultures, including early hip-hop music and underground drag culture, and were not fully accepted or respected by the mainstream.
—Moriah Humiston, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Enter Louis Theroux, a British documentarian known for embedding himself in volatile subcultures and extracting sincere insights.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2026
The series’ brief plunges into American subcultures are told without hand-holding or rigid structure; the point of the story often doesn’t reveal itself until the end — or perhaps days later.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Just as Season 1 was a sociological cross section of Asian-American Los Angeles and its many subcultures, Season 2 gets specific with another corner of Southern California.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
The Bay Area is home to extensive subcultures of people, many who have worked in tech, who have spent years debating, often online, whether the advancement of AI could threaten humanity.
—St. John Barned-Smith, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2026
For much of the 20th century in the United States, tattoos were associated with rebellion and criminality — linked to prisoners, gangs and subcultures, as well as servicemen like sailors and soldiers.
—Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Arabic carries ancient histories encompassing a myriad of subcultures and sustainable systems for the world.
—Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
Many of the Gen Z terms, language enthusiasts say, once permeated Black subcultures, including early hip-hop music and underground drag culture, and were not fully accepted or respected by the mainstream.
—Moriah Humiston, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
Enter Louis Theroux, a British documentarian known for embedding himself in volatile subcultures and extracting sincere insights.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subcultures
Noun
-
This relativist turn in anthropology gained ground in succeeding decades, as the discipline became ever more attentive to the specificity of cultures, and increasingly wary of universal claims about the human condition.—
Glenn Adamson,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
-
Learn about tea ceremonies in different cultures through books and a live presentation.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Known as the godfather of public relations, Bernays explained how the unconscious element of people in democratic societies could be manipulated.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Trade during the Bronze Age significantly influenced the structures of early societies.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subcultures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subcultures. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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