Meanings
plural youthquakes
- informalA noticeable shift in society or culture in response to the activities or tastes of younger members of the culture.
The trend was partly a manifestation of the Silicon Valley youthquake that was powering the dot-com economy.
2017, David Friend, The Naughty Nineties1 more example
Britain produced many of the first temblors of the youthquake. There were the elegantly dressed but often vicious Teddy boys of the late 1950s. There were the gentler Mods and the tough leather-jacketed, working-class rockers in the '60s.
1970 June 8, “The Skinheads”, in Time
Origin
From youth + quake, by analogy with earthquake. Coined by American magazine editor Diana Vreeland in 1965.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 青年震盪 /青年震荡
- 青年震盪 /青年震荡 (qīngnián zhèndàng)shift in response to younger members of a culture
Dutch jeugdbeving
- jeugdbevingshift in response to younger members of a culture
Finnish nuorisojäristys
- nuorisojäristysshift in response to younger members of a culture
Cite this entry
youthquake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/youthquake
“youthquake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/youthquake. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “youthquake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/youthquake.
Source: youthquake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.