Basedriven

Basedriven is a term used in internet culture to describe content, behavior, or decisions that are motivated by the "based" ethos — typically understood as being independent-minded, unapologetic, or resistant to mainstream opinion. The coinage combines based with driven, signaling that the central motive is adherence to a "based" stance rather than conformity or trend-chasing. The broader meme of "based" emerged in online communities in the 2010s and was popularized in part by Lil B the BasedGod; discussions and uses of basedriven proliferated on forums, image boards, and social media.

In usage, basedriven can describe a method (basedriven design), a person (a basedriven commentator), or a policy and is used as an adjective, noun, or, less commonly, an adverb. It generally connotes authenticity, forthrightness, or contrarianism, but the tone is informal and context-dependent. Depending on the audience, it can be praise or sarcasm.

Critics caution that basedriven rhetoric may overlap with polarized or extreme viewpoints when framed as uncompromising honesty, so the term's connotations are fluid and audience-specific. In professional or academic writing, the term is rarely used and often replaced with more precise descriptors of values-driven or principled decision-making.

See also: based, internet slang, meme culture, online communities, Lil B.