cyberpunk

English

Etymology

From cyber- +‎ -punk, coined by American writer and software developer Bruce Bethke as the title of a 1983 short story, and later popularized by Gardner Dozois.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪ.bə.pʌŋk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪ.bɚˌpʌŋk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

cyberpunk (countable and uncountable, plural cyberpunks)

1. (science fiction, uncountable) A subgenre of science fiction which focuses on computer or information technology and virtual reality juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order.
   • 1991 January 7, Lewis Shiner, “Confessions of an Ex-Cyberpunk”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 2 October 2025:

     But by 1987, cyberpunk had become a cliche. Other writers had turned the form into formula: implant wetware (biological computer chips), government by multinational corporations, street-wise, leather-jacketed, amphetamine-loving protagonists and decayed orbital colonies.

   • 2015, Abby H. P. Werlock, Encyclopedia of the American Short Story, Infobase Learning, →ISBN:

     Cyberpunk stories are set in a futuristic, dystopic environment—the opposite of utopian—in which computer technology plays an important role. […] The protagonists of cyberpunk stories are technologically proficient, lonely adventurers struggling with issues of identity and forced to use computer skills to fight menacing forces of domination.

2. (countable) A cyberpunk character, a hacker punk, a high-tech low life.

   The film The Matrix redefined what a cyberpunk looked like.

3. (countable) A writer of cyberpunk fiction.
   • 1989 January, SPIN, volume 4, number 10, page 50:

     […] cyberpunks like William Gibson, Lucious Sheperd^[sic], Bruce Sterling […]

4. (music, uncountable) A musical genre related to the punk movement that makes use of electronic sounds such as synthesizers.
   • 2003, Jan Haluska, The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems, →ISBN, page 109:

     A more technologically elaborate current of microtonal music can be found at M.I.T and Berklee College of Music, where R. Boulanger works in exotic equal temperaments and non-octave scales (E₆₀ and the 13th root of 3, i.e. the Bohlen-Pierce scale) using the CSOUND acoustic compiler, the Mathews radio drum and various MIDI synthesizers; nearby, E. Mullen performs cyberpunk music in E₁₉ and the 13th root of 3.

   • 2014, Gemma White, Furniture is Disappearing, →ISBN, page 41:

     At Meredith we stayed up all night listening to doof doof cyberpunk music and I saw you cry for the first time, at four in the morning bottle of ice tea and vodka in hand I saw your real face and something changed.

   • 2017, Tristanne Connolly, Tomoyuki Iino, Canadian Music and American Culture: Get Away From Me, →ISBN, page 182:

     Indeed, 'Mindphaser' (and Tactical Neural Implant more generally) represents a high point of cyberpunk in the industrial music scene.

Derived terms

• cyberpunkish
• cyberpunky
• cypherpunk
• postcyberpunk

Related terms

• steampunk
• solarpunk

Translations

sci-fi subgenre

• Arabic: سَايْبَرْبَانْك m (sāybarbānk)
• Burmese: ဆိုင်ဘာပန့် (hcuingbhapan.)
• Catalan: ciberpunk m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 賽博朋克 / 赛博朋克 (zh) (sàibópéngkè), 電馭叛客 / 电驭叛客 (diànyùpànkè)

• Czech: kyberpunk m
• Danish: cyberpunk c
• Esperanto: ciberpunko
• Finnish: kyberpunk
• French: cyberpunk (fr) m
• Georgian: კიბერპანკი (ḳiberṗanḳi)
• German: Cyberpunk (de) m
• Greek: κυβερνοπάνκ n (kyvernopánk)
• Hindi: साइबरपंक m (sāibarpaṅk), जालबाग़ी विज्ञान (jālbāġī vijñān) (literally)
• Italian: cyberpunk (it) m
• Japanese: サイバーパンク (saibāpanku)
• Korean: 사이버펑크 (saibeopeongkeu)
• Polish: cyberpunk (pl) m
• Russian: киберпа́нк (ru) m (kiberpánk)
• Slovak: kyberpunk m
• Spanish: cyberpunk m
• Swedish: cyberpunk (sv) c
• Thai: ไซเบอร์พังค์ (sāi-bɤ̂ɤ-páng)
• Turkish: siberpunk, siber çılgınlık

Further reading

• cyberpunk on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Bruce Bethke (1997), “The Etymology of Cyberpunk”, in brucebethke.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 16 July 2013

Danish

Etymology

From cyber- +‎ punk. First attested in 1989.

Noun

cyberpunk c (singular definite cyberpunken, not used in plural form)

1. (science fiction) cyberpunk

Declension

Declension of cyberpunk

common gender	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	cyberpunk	cyberpunken
genitive	cyberpunks	cyberpunkens

Derived terms

• cyberpunker

References

• “cyberpunk” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɑi̯berpuŋk/, [ˈs̠ɑ̝i̯be̞rpuŋk]
• Rhymes: -ɑiberpuŋk

Noun

cyberpunk

1. alternative spelling of kyberpunk

Declension

Inflection of cyberpunk (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		cyberpunk	—
genitive		cyberpunkin	—
partitive		cyberpunkia	—
illative		cyberpunkiin	—
		singular	plural
nominative		cyberpunk	—
accusative	nom.	cyberpunk	—
	gen.	cyberpunkin
genitive		cyberpunkin	—
partitive		cyberpunkia	—
inessive		cyberpunkissa	—
elative		cyberpunkista	—
illative		cyberpunkiin	—
adessive		cyberpunkilla	—
ablative		cyberpunkilta	—
allative		cyberpunkille	—
essive		cyberpunkina	—
translative		cyberpunkiksi	—
abessive		cyberpunkitta	—
instructive		—	—
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of cyberpunk (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cyberpunkini — accusative nom. cyberpunkini — gen. cyberpunkini genitive cyberpunkini — partitive cyberpunkiani — inessive cyberpunkissani — elative cyberpunkistani — illative cyberpunkiini — adessive cyberpunkillani — ablative cyberpunkiltani — allative cyberpunkilleni — essive cyberpunkinani — translative cyberpunkikseni — abessive cyberpunkittani — instructive — — comitative — — second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cyberpunkisi — accusative nom. cyberpunkisi — gen. cyberpunkisi genitive cyberpunkisi — partitive cyberpunkiasi — inessive cyberpunkissasi — elative cyberpunkistasi — illative cyberpunkiisi — adessive cyberpunkillasi — ablative cyberpunkiltasi — allative cyberpunkillesi — essive cyberpunkinasi — translative cyberpunkiksesi — abessive cyberpunkittasi — instructive — — comitative — — first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cyberpunkimme — accusative nom. cyberpunkimme — gen. cyberpunkimme genitive cyberpunkimme — partitive cyberpunkiamme — inessive cyberpunkissamme — elative cyberpunkistamme — illative cyberpunkiimme — adessive cyberpunkillamme — ablative cyberpunkiltamme — allative cyberpunkillemme — essive cyberpunkinamme — translative cyberpunkiksemme — abessive cyberpunkittamme — instructive — — comitative — — second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cyberpunkinne — accusative nom. cyberpunkinne — gen. cyberpunkinne genitive cyberpunkinne — partitive cyberpunkianne — inessive cyberpunkissanne — elative cyberpunkistanne — illative cyberpunkiinne — adessive cyberpunkillanne — ablative cyberpunkiltanne — allative cyberpunkillenne — essive cyberpunkinanne — translative cyberpunkiksenne — abessive cyberpunkittanne — instructive — — comitative — — third-person possessor singular plural nominative cyberpunkinsa — accusative nom. cyberpunkinsa — gen. cyberpunkinsa genitive cyberpunkinsa — partitive cyberpunkiaan cyberpunkiansa — inessive cyberpunkissaan cyberpunkissansa — elative cyberpunkistaan cyberpunkistansa — illative cyberpunkiinsa — adessive cyberpunkillaan cyberpunkillansa — ablative cyberpunkiltaan cyberpunkiltansa — allative cyberpunkilleen cyberpunkillensa — essive cyberpunkinaan cyberpunkinansa — translative cyberpunkikseen cyberpunkiksensa — abessive cyberpunkittaan cyberpunkittansa — instructive — — comitative — —

French

Etymology

From English cyberpunk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.bɛʁ.pœŋk/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

cyberpunk m (plural cyberpunks)

1. (science fiction) cyberpunk

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English cyberpunk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sɘˈbɛr.paŋk/
• Rhymes: -ɛrpaŋk
• Syllabification: cy‧ber‧punk

Noun

cyberpunk m inan

1. (film, science fiction) cyberpunk (sci-fi subgenre)

Declension

Declension of cyberpunk

	singular
nominative	cyberpunk
genitive	cyberpunku
dative	cyberpunkowi
accusative	cyberpunk
instrumental	cyberpunkiem
locative	cyberpunku
vocative	cyberpunku

Noun

cyberpunk m pers

1. (film, science fiction) cyberpunk (cyberpunk character, a hacker punk, a high-tech low life)

Declension

Declension of cyberpunk

	singular	plural
nominative	cyberpunk	cyberpunki
genitive	cyberpunka	cyberpunków
dative	cyberpunkowi	cyberpunkom
accusative	cyberpunka	cyberpunków
instrumental	cyberpunkiem	cyberpunkami
locative	cyberpunku	cyberpunkach
vocative	cyberpunku	cyberpunki

Derived terms

adjective

• cyberpunkowy

Further reading

• “cyberpunk”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “cyberpunk”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θibeɾˈpank/ [θi.β̞eɾˈpãŋk] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /sibeɾˈpank/ [si.β̞eɾˈpãŋk] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -ank
• Syllabification: cy‧ber‧punk

Noun

cyberpunk m (plural cyberpunks)

1. cyberpunk

Swedish

Etymology

cyber- +‎ punk

Noun

cyberpunk c

1. (science fiction, uncountable) cyberpunk

Declension

Declension of cyberpunk

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	cyberpunk	cyberpunks
	definite	cyberpunken	cyberpunkens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

References

• “cyberpunk”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “cyberpunk”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)