Beatnik
noun
A person who was part of the beat generation in the 1950s and early 1960s, often described as non-traditional and rejecting conventional society.
In the 1950s, a beatnik might be found in a coffee shop reading poetry or discussing philosophy.
Often appears as...
- beatnik era
- beatnik culture
Usage tips
Historical
noun
A person viewed as over-intellectual, anti-establishment, and having an interest in arts, particularly literature, music, and abstract painting.
His beatnik lifestyle and artistic passions didn't quite fit with the corporate world.
Often appears as...
- beatnik attitude
- beatnik movement
Usage tips
Cultural
noun
A person who was part of the beat generation in the 1950s and early 1960s, often described as non-traditional and rejecting conventional society.
In the 1950s, a beatnik might be found in a coffee shop reading poetry or discussing philosophy.
Often appears as...
- beatnik era
- beatnik culture
Usage tips
Historical
noun
A person viewed as over-intellectual, anti-establishment, and having an interest in arts, particularly literature, music, and abstract painting.
His beatnik lifestyle and artistic passions didn't quite fit with the corporate world.
Often appears as...
- beatnik attitude
- beatnik movement
Usage tips
Cultural
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
The term 'beatnik' emerged in a specific historical era, understanding which helps grasp its meaning.
He idealized the beatniks and their quest for authenticity in post-war America.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nonconformity
'Beatnik' implies a deliberate departure from mainstream culture and values.
She adopted the beatnik disdain for materialism through her minimalist lifestyle.
Pro Tip 3/3Perceived Eccentricity
Being labeled a 'beatnik' may imply unconventional or eccentric behavior.
His beatnik approach to art often left viewers puzzled but intrigued.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
The term 'beatnik' emerged in a specific historical era, understanding which helps grasp its meaning.
He idealized the beatniks and their quest for authenticity in post-war America.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nonconformity
'Beatnik' implies a deliberate departure from mainstream culture and values.
She adopted the beatnik disdain for materialism through her minimalist lifestyle.
Pro Tip 3/3Perceived Eccentricity
Being labeled a 'beatnik' may imply unconventional or eccentric behavior.
His beatnik approach to art often left viewers puzzled but intrigued.
Pro Tip 1/3Historical Context
The term 'beatnik' emerged in a specific historical era, understanding which helps grasp its meaning.
He idealized the beatniks and their quest for authenticity in post-war America.
Pro Tip 2/3Cultural Nonconformity
'Beatnik' implies a deliberate departure from mainstream culture and values.
She adopted the beatnik disdain for materialism through her minimalist lifestyle.
Pro Tip 3/3Perceived Eccentricity
Being labeled a 'beatnik' may imply unconventional or eccentric behavior.
His beatnik approach to art often left viewers puzzled but intrigued.
Compare with
bohemiandissenterhipstericonoclastmavericknonconformanceradicalisationrebel
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Video examples
Your Guide to San...
between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The city has long attracted trailblazers and countercultures. The Gold Rush, immigration, beatniks, hippies, the LGBTQ community, and the tech industry have all fueled San Francisco's enduring influence
Video examples
Your Guide to San...
between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The city has long attracted trailblazers and countercultures. The Gold Rush, immigration, beatniks, hippies, the LGBTQ community, and the tech industry have all fueled San Francisco's enduring influence
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Peter Fonda
American Actor
It took us a long time to find out that we had been lied to by our parents' generation. The moralities that were followed during our parents' generation were basically arbitrary. This caused a rift between the two generations, which was brought on by the beatniks.
Quote examples
John Waters
Director
I went through different looks. At one period, I was preppy because that's how I grew up. But then I had bleached hair in the front. And I used to wear - then I wanted to be a beatnik. It was hard to be a beatnik in suburban Baltimore. But I wanted to be one.
Quote examples
Harvey Pekar
American Writer
I'm from the beatnik generation, where everybody wanted to be a poet or writer or something. And at that time, I was a jazz critic, and I was always thinking, theorizing about what makes great art or what's important in art.
Quote examples
Rachel Kushner
American Writer
My older brother, Jake, and I had a bohemian childhood. My parents are deeply unconventional people from the beatnik generation. They weren't married, and I thought that was normal. We called them by their first names.
Quote examples
Christopher Moore
American Writer
From Dickens's cockneys to Salinger's phonies, from Kerouac's beatniks to Cheech and Chong's freaks, and on to hip hop's homies, dialect has always been used as a way for generations to distinguish themselves.
Quote examples
Janis Joplin
American Singer
I got treated very badly in Texas. They don't treat beatniks too good in Texas. Port Arthur people thought I was a beatnik, though they'd never seen one and neither had I.
Quote examples
Richard Belzer
American Comedian
When I was a kid in the '50s, I was very enamored of beatniks and... a kind of dark sensibility.
Quote examples
David Lee Roth
American Musician
Rap is poetry to music, like beatniks without beards and bongos.
Quote examples
Garth Risk Hallberg
American Author
At 14 and 15, I was sort of my town's resident beatnik.
Quote examples
Jack Kerouac
American Novelist
I'm not a beatnik. I'm a Catholic.
Quote examples
Peter Fonda
American Actor
It took us a long time to find out that we had been lied to by our parents' generation. The moralities that were followed during our parents' generation were basically arbitrary. This caused a rift between the two generations, which was brought on by the beatniks.
Quote examples
John Waters
Director
I went through different looks. At one period, I was preppy because that's how I grew up. But then I had bleached hair in the front. And I used to wear - then I wanted to be a beatnik. It was hard to be a beatnik in suburban Baltimore. But I wanted to be one.
Quote examples
Harvey Pekar
American Writer
I'm from the beatnik generation, where everybody wanted to be a poet or writer or something. And at that time, I was a jazz critic, and I was always thinking, theorizing about what makes great art or what's important in art.
Quote examples
Rachel Kushner
American Writer
My older brother, Jake, and I had a bohemian childhood. My parents are deeply unconventional people from the beatnik generation. They weren't married, and I thought that was normal. We called them by their first names.
Quote examples
Christopher Moore
American Writer
From Dickens's cockneys to Salinger's phonies, from Kerouac's beatniks to Cheech and Chong's freaks, and on to hip hop's homies, dialect has always been used as a way for generations to distinguish themselves.
Quote examples
Janis Joplin
American Singer
I got treated very badly in Texas. They don't treat beatniks too good in Texas. Port Arthur people thought I was a beatnik, though they'd never seen one and neither had I.
Quote examples
Richard Belzer
American Comedian
When I was a kid in the '50s, I was very enamored of beatniks and... a kind of dark sensibility.
Quote examples
David Lee Roth
American Musician
Rap is poetry to music, like beatniks without beards and bongos.
Quote examples
Garth Risk Hallberg
American Author
At 14 and 15, I was sort of my town's resident beatnik.
Quote examples
Jack Kerouac
American Novelist
I'm not a beatnik. I'm a Catholic.
Example 1 of 10
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