Counterpublic

//ˌkaʊntəˈpʌblɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A group that stands in opposion to the dominant public.

    "In other words, with this book they form a “counterpublic” to what they saw as a dominant, adult-controlled public sphere."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Opposing or serving as a counterbalance to the dominant public. not-comparable

    "An account of this sort provides a historicized moral foundation for a conception of counterpublic spheres more capable of undertaking a (decentered and multifaceted) critique of systematically distorted communication."

Example

More examples

"An account of this sort provides a historicized moral foundation for a conception of counterpublic spheres more capable of undertaking a (decentered and multifaceted) critique of systematically distorted communication."

Etymology

From counter- + public.

More for "counterpublic"

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.