Beat Generation

or beat gen·er·a·tion

[ beet jen-uh-rey-shuhn ]

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.

Beat Generation

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Beat Generation¹

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

In 1979 I published Desolate Angel/Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America.

From The Daily Beast

Kate Bosworth talks finding love on set, Beat Generation style, and her latest collaboration with Topshop.

From The Daily Beast

Joyce Johnson is one of the few surviving writers of the Beat Generation, and perhaps one of the most underappreciated.

From The Daily Beast