Beat Generation

American  

[beet jen-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˈbit ˌdʒɛn əˈreɪ ʃən /

Or beat generation

noun

1. members of the generation that came of age after World War II who, supposedly as a result of disillusionment stemming from the Cold War, embraced forms of mysticism and the relaxation of social and sexual inhibitions.

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Beat Generation British  

noun

1. members of the generation that came to maturity in the 1950s, whose rejection of the social and political systems of the West was expressed through contempt for regular work, possessions, traditional dress, etc, and espousal of anarchism, communal living, drugs, etc

2. a group of US writers, notably Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs, who emerged in the 1950s

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Etymology

Origin of Beat Generation

First recorded in 1950–55; apparently from beat ( def. ), though the sense intended by earliest users of the phrase is not clear; the association with beatitude ( def. ) later made by Jack Kerouac is probably fanciful

Example Sentences

The couple began dating in 2012 after meeting on the set of the 2013 film “Kill Your Darlings,” in which Radcliffe portrayed Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg and Darke played one of his love interests.

From Los Angeles Times

Some compare them to the 1950s Beat Generation in the United States.

From Washington Post

Born in New York in 1919, Ferlinghetti moved to the west coast in 1951 and his shop soon acted as hub for progressive politics and a magnet for the bohemian beat generation.

From BBC

“Did you know that the Walker Museum has a Beat Generation exhibit right now?” she said.

From New York Times

She also co-founded the Floating Bear, a newsletter that ultimately got her arrested when she published several poems that the government regarded as obscene, including a piece by William S. Burroughs, the elder statesman of the Beat generation.

From Los Angeles Times