proletariat

pro·le·tar·i·at

noun \ˌprō-lə-ˈter-ē-ət, -ē-ˌat\

Definition of PROLETARIAT

1

: the laboring class; especially : the class of industrial workers who lack their own means of production and hence sell their labor to live

2

: the lowest social or economic class of a community

Examples of PROLETARIAT

1. <the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution>

Origin of PROLETARIAT

French prolétariat, from Latin proletarius

First Known Use: 1847

Related to PROLETARIAT

Synonyms: rabble, rabblement, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff, rout, scum, tag, rag, and bobtail (or tagrag and bobtail), trash, unwashed

Antonyms: A-list, aristocracy, elite, gentry, quality, society, upper class, upper crust

Related Words: dregs; commoners, commons, herd, hoi polloi, masses, millions, mob, multitude, people, plebeians, populace, public, rank and file; bourgeoisie, middle class, working class

Near Antonyms: elect, establishment; gentlefolk (also gentlefolks), nobility, peerage

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Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

Rhymes with PROLETARIAT

commissariat, multivariate, secretariat