as in aristocratic
being or characteristic of a person who has an offensive air of superiority and tends to ignore or disdain anyone regarded as inferior
the complacent, elitist attitude of the members at that suburban country club
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in snob
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elitist
Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
And voters’ belief that its beneficiaries are complacent elitists skilled only in symbolic victory can no longer be blamed on brainwashing by right-wing media.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Dawn Staley, New York Times, 20 May 2025
There is nothing wasteful or elitist about public investment in science.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for elitist
Adjective
By 1990, bootleg versions of the book had washed up for sale in the pages of far-right magazines, peddled alongside sulfurous predictions of American concentration camps and a helpful who’s who of global elitists.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
And voters’ belief that its beneficiaries are complacent elitists skilled only in symbolic victory can no longer be blamed on brainwashing by right-wing media.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Noun
And certainly not the asses of these preppy white people, these elitist jerks.
—Dawn Staley, New York Times, 20 May 2025
There is nothing wasteful or elitist about public investment in science.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for elitist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elitist
Adjective
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Related Articles Fresh off designing the priest’s robes for the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, the designer with aristocratic roots took another deep dive into the history of France.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
18 June 2025
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While Nancy Mitford’s life was all aristocratic escapades splashed across the gossip pages, Bessie Carter has a penchant for German techno and British electronic-music festivals, comfy T-shirts on her days off, and a nebulizer for her vocal cords.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
18 June 2025
Noun
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Lisette Olivera assumes the mantle as Jess Valenzuela, a history buff and puzzle snob working odd jobs in New Orleans and mourning the recent death of her mother.—
Joshua Alston,
Variety,
14 Dec. 2022
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On their first day in town, treat your food snob to a fireworks show of Dallas at its most sophisticated.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
23 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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The protests proved conclusively that Americans will not tolerate the deployment of the U.S. military in American cities, the constant line-stepping over constitutional boundaries, the arrests of political dissenters, or the arrogant defense of police-state tactics.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
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In Aesop’s fable, the turtle (traditionally called a tortoise, which is a type of turtle) is a winner, a perpetual underdog who defeats the arrogant hare.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
Noun
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There actually is something at stake for these women, which frees them up for a desperate kind of humor, in the vein of those plucky social climbers in a screwball comedy from an earlier era.—
Alissa Wilkinson,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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From the dynastic Dupree family to the conniving social climbers bent on usurping their place at the top of the social hierarchy, the historic new daytime drama is all about its characters.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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So many of the characters are intelligent, cruel, snobbish, yet undeniably hilarious.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
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Not to sound snobbish about it, but the thought of wearing a polyester dress—knowing the environmental impact and the feel of the fabric—is something that just doesn’t sit right with me anymore.—
Lauren Parker,
Sourcing Journal,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elitist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elitist. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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