arriviste

noun

ar·​ri·​viste ˌa-ri-ˈvēst 

: one that is a new and uncertain arrival (as in social position or artistic endeavor)

Did you know?

An arriviste is someone who is just beginning to "arrive," in the sense of achieving success or making a name for oneself. Often the word can have slightly negative connotations, indicating a person who is highly aggressive or perhaps unscrupulous in his or her climb to the top. Like its synonym parvenu, arriviste can also indicate a lack of certainty or confidence in one's newfound position. Arriviste is something of a new arrival itself, relatively speaking. English speakers borrowed the term from French in the early 20th century.

Synonyms

• nouveau riche
• parvenu
• upstart

Examples of arriviste in a Sentence

the town's old money immediately shunned these vulgar arrivistes, who may have had the cash but certainly not the class

Recent Examples on the Web

Where’s our charming arriviste? —Jason Gay, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2020

Compared with some of her peers, she was initially seen as an arriviste. —Caitlin Moscatello, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2023

Her circle includes an aunt who is a champion wrestler, a resident Goth named Isabel and sultry Penny Century, an arriviste married to a wealthy magnate with horns on his head. —Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2023

Though the indigenous Jewish often preserved their own customs (e.g., Romaniotes), by and large they were absorbed by the arriviste Sephardim. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2011

Henry VII was a medieval arriviste, the last man standing after the ruinous Wars of the Roses. —Dominic Green, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2022

The underdog pick is Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), an ingenuous arriviste who, long-limbed and blunder-prone, provides much of the show’s comic relief. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021

Three years ago, Gaga got dinged for being an Oscars arriviste; there could have been a hundred people in the room and not enough of them voted for her in Best Actress. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2021

But every now and then even captains of industry get taken by surprise, and lately they’ve been kept on their toes by a barrage of novel financial vehicles and the arriviste investors driving up their value. —Emily Stewart, Town & Country, 3 June 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, from arriver "to reach a destination, achieve success" (going back to Old French ariver "to reach a destination by ship") + -iste -ist entry 1 — more at arrive entry 1

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!