Arcane vs. Mainstream

Arcaneadjective

Understood by only a few.

‘arcane rituals’;

Mainstreamadjective

Used or accepted broadly rather than by small portions of a population or market.

‘They often carry stories you won't find in the mainstream media.’;

Arcaneadjective

(by extension) Obscure, mysterious.

‘arcane origins’; ‘arcane details’;

Mainstreamnoun

The principal current in a flow, such as a river or flow of air

Arcaneadjective

Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge to understand.

Mainstreamnoun

That which is common; the norm.

‘His ideas were well outside the mainstream, but he presented them intelligently, and we were impressed if not convinced.’;

Arcaneadjective

Extremely old (e.g. interpretation or knowledge), and possibly irrelevant.

Mainstreamverb

(transitive) To popularize, to normalize, to render mainstream.

Arcaneadjective

Hidden; secret.

Mainstreamverb

(intransitive) To become mainstream.

Arcaneadjective

requiring secret or mysterious knowledge;

‘the arcane science of dowsing’;

Mainstreamverb

To educate (a disabled student) together with non-disabled students.

‘Mainstreaming has become more common in recent years, as studies have shown that many mainstreamed students with mild learning disabilities learn better than their non-mainstreamed counterparts.’;

Mainstreamnoun

The prevailing opinion or practise; as, the doctor avoided using therapies outside the mainstream of modern medical practice.

Mainstreamverb

TO place (a student) in regular school classes; - used especially of mentally or physically handicapped children.

Mainstreamnoun

the prevailing current of thought;

‘his thinking was in the American mainstream’;

Mainstream

The mainstream is the prevalent current thought that is widespread.It includes all popular culture and media culture, typically disseminated by mass media. This word is sometimes used in a pejorative sense by subcultures who view ostensibly mainstream culture as not only exclusive but artistically and aesthetically inferior.It is to be distinguished from subcultures and countercultures, and at the opposite extreme are cult followings and fringe theories.