Meaning & use
a subgenre
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Meaning
phrasecountable
A smaller, more specific category within a larger genre of art, music, film, or literature.
Grammar: Use 'a subgenre' for one; the plural is 'subgenres'.
Patterns
- a subgenre of something
- a subgenre within something
- a subgenre called something
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime writing.
The band plays a subgenre of rock called shoegaze.
This film belongs to a subgenre of horror known as psychological horror.
Word forms
| plural | subgenres |
|---|
Common combinations
- a subgenre of science fiction
- Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction.
- a popular subgenre
- True crime is a popular subgenre of nonfiction.
- a subgenre within
- There are many styles within this subgenre.
- a subgenre called
- They invented a subgenre called 'dark ambient'.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- genre noun
- A broad category of art, music, or literature.
- subgeneric adjective
- Relating to a subgenre; less common.
Commonly confused: a subgenre or subgroup?
a subgenre vs subgroup
A subgroup is a smaller group within any larger group of people or things; a subgenre is specifically a smaller category within an artistic genre.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'a subgenre' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition after 'subgenre' is 'of'. The other prepositions are not used in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a subgenre”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.