First Known Use: 1770
Dictionary
genre
noun \ˈzhän-rə, ˈzhäⁿ-; ˈzhäⁿr; ˈjän-rə\
: a particular type or category of literature or art
Full Definition of GENRE
1
: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
3
: painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically
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Examples of GENRE
- In genre fiction there is an implied contract between writer and reader that justice of a kind will be exacted; “good” may not always triumph over “evil,” but the distinction between the two must be honored. —Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books, 14 Aug. 2003
- One of the first marketers outside of hip-hop to recognize the power of the genre … . he first sent models sashaying down the runway in 1991 in hip-hop chic, with sneakers and chunky gold chains… —Johnnie L. Roberts, Newsweek, 2 Sept. 2002
- Even the local Catholic archdiocesan weekly, hardly an exciting genre, offers a more provocative sampling of opinion on its editorial page. —Walker Percy, “New Orleans Mon Amour,” 1968, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
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Origin of GENRE
French, from Middle French, kind, gender — more at gender
Related to GENRE
Other Literature Terms
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