subgenre
noun
sub·genre
ˈsəb-ˌzhän-rə 
-ˌzhäⁿ-;
-ˌzhäⁿr;
-ˌjän-rə
variants
or less commonly sub-genre
plural subgenres also sub-genres
: a genre that is part of a larger genre
The series is part of the booming "urban fantasy" subgenre, which features supernatural creatures interacting with ordinary humans in a contemporary city.—
Jennifer Schuessler
Jennifer SchuesslerExamples of subgenre in a Sentence
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Terminology, however, is insufficient: the Promising Young Woman is messier and more complicated than the rape revenge subgenre or tales of women done wrong, a pastiche of contradictions that further mucks up Northrop Frye’s distinct archetypal schema and heightens its own significance.
—Meg Pillow
july 31, Literary Hub, 31 July 2025
He became known as the Prince of Darkness and, relatedly, the godfather of heavy metal, which emerged as the name for the subgenre that flourished and then fractured in the wake of Black Sabbath’s success, spawning sub-subgenres and sub-sub-subgenres through the decades.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 25 July 2025
Female solo action movies are a completely different subgenre and don’t always attract the full-on male audience that typically attends an action movie with a male leading star.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 June 2025
There are subgenres of true crime, like true innocence, which investigates claims of wrongful conviction, that aren’t as lurid — but that’s not what Wolf is doing with Homicide.
—John J. Lennon, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subgenre
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Meg Pillow
july 31, Literary Hub, 31 July 2025
He became known as the Prince of Darkness and, relatedly, the godfather of heavy metal, which emerged as the name for the subgenre that flourished and then fractured in the wake of Black Sabbath’s success, spawning sub-subgenres and sub-sub-subgenres through the decades.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 25 July 2025
Female solo action movies are a completely different subgenre and don’t always attract the full-on male audience that typically attends an action movie with a male leading star.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 June 2025
There are subgenres of true crime, like true innocence, which investigates claims of wrongful conviction, that aren’t as lurid — but that’s not what Wolf is doing with Homicide.
—John J. Lennon, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for subgenre
Cite this Entry
“Subgenre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subgenre. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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