Meanings
nounpoptimism (uncountable)
- uncountableThe belief that pop music (or pop culture in general) is worthy of professional critique and interest.
Rockism lost, and poptimism won. All cultural snootiness is now tedious.
2022, W. David Marx, chapter 10, in Status and Culture, Viking, →ISBN1 more example
Soon poptimism—an ideology that maintained that authenticity was a pose and conventionally unserious music (and, later, film, TV and books) had inherent value—became the status quo.
2025 September 28, Rachel Aroesti, “In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe belief that pop music (or pop culture in general) is worthy of professional critique and interest.
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Opposite
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Origin
Cite this entry
APA
poptimism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poptimism
MLA
“poptimism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poptimism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poptimism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poptimism.
Source: poptimism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.