Generation X, n.

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌdʒɛnəreɪʃn ˈɛks/, U.S. /ˈˌdʒɛnəˌreɪʃ(ə)n ˈɛks/

Etymology: < generation n. + X n. (compare X n. 3).

orig. N. Amer.

A generation of young people about whose future there is uncertainty; a lost generation. In later use: spec. a generation of young people (esp. North Americans reaching adulthood in the 1980s and 1990s) perceived to be disaffected, directionless, or irresponsible, and reluctant to participate in society.
In recent use popularized by the Canadian writer Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel Generation X.

1952 Holiday Dec. 41/2 What, you may well ask, is Generation X?‥ These are the youngsters who have seen and felt the agonies of the past two decades,‥who are trying to keep their balance in the swirling pressures of today, and who will have the biggest say in the course of history for the next 50 years.

1964 C. Hamblett & J. Deverson Generation X 8 The ultimate responsibility of Generation X is to guide the human race through the final and crucial decades of this explosive century into the enlightenment of the next one.

1977 (title of album of punk music) Generation X.

1989 Toronto Star 24 Feb. b4 What if this Generation X turns around collectively and comes to the conclusion they can't sit around waiting, and instead‥start their own businesses.

1994 Rolling Stone 19 May 58/2 Maybe it's the pandemic shrug of Generation X, the futility felt by the young when analyzed to death by self-styled experts, carpet-bombed by music videos and wired to 157 channels with nothing on.

2004 Independent (Tabloid ed.) 31 Mar. 30/4 A study‥has found that children born since 1985 are more socially conscious, politically active, and generally nicer than the angst-ridden ‘Generation X’ who preceded them.

Derivatives

Generation ˈXer n. a member of Generation X; cf. slacker n. Additions.

1989 Toronto Star 24 Feb. b4 The other possibility‥is that the Generation X-ers will cope by changing their goals or changing their behavior.

1994 Minnesota Monthly May 60/1 They're demanding value‥as boomers step out with their kids, Generation Xers tussle with cash flow, and graying execs face downward mobility.

2002 Good Weekend(Austral.) 8 June 51/1 (heading) The reluctance of Generation X-ers to commit to relationships may not be a sign of immaturity at all.