LUMPEN Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

lumpen

adjective

ˈlu̇m-pən

Definition of lumpen

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank a kind of music that has traditionally appealed to the lumpen segment of the musical audience

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of lumpen But the earlier dolls were crude, lumpen things, a cross between a beanbag and a sculpted potato. — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024 Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2022 Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2022 The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape. — Erik Morse, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2021 Indeed, the miniatures — lumpen clay armchairs and occasional tables that Valle arranges and rearranges inside shoebox versions of their ultimate destinations — are closer to dollhouse furniture than to showpiece renderings. — New York Times, 9 Sep. 2021 Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility. — Kelly Crow, WSJ, 6 July 2021

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumpen

Adjective

Wall Street looked past geopolitics even as oil prices climbed on the back of lower-than-expected inflation figures that sent tech stocks higher.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 July 2026
The results were consistent across most states lower rates of sleep insufficiency were associated with longer life expectancy.

— Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026

Definition of low

Adjective

But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.

— Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship.

— Time, Time, 23 Oct. 2025

Definition of proletarian

Adjective

Scabies, ringworm, rashes from numerous unknown sources and unwashed skin was wrapped in clothing of stiff linen, smelly woolens or coarse calico.

— Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Simple issues—such as unwashed hands, test strip problems, or incorrect meter use—can sometimes lead to inaccurate results.

— Karen Berger, Verywell Health, 30 June 2026

Definition of unwashed

Adjective

Linen and cotton, cooling garments, were too plebeian; the people posed nobly for street-style social-media accounts in leather jackets and low-slung jorts.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Jan. 2026

Definition of plebeian

Adjective

The franchise centers around a dystopian nation called Panem, where rich and authoritarian leaders force twelve lower-class districts to submit two children to fight in a deadly, and televised, battle every year.

— Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026
In recent years, more and more students from lower-class families have been able to attend universities.

— The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026

Definition of lower-class

Adjective

Suki, a vocal Black woman with an at times vulgar persona, whereas Althoff, a white woman, gained a reputation as an awkward, seemingly timid interviewer on her The Really Good Podcast.

— Meagan Jordan, VIBE.com, 10 July 2026
Sean Goode, a former Canton police sergeant who was working the night of John O'Keefe's death and testified during the first Karen Read trial, allegedly sent dozens of vulgar text messages, according to an independent investigation.

— Matt Schooley, CBS News, 29 June 2026

Definition of vulgar

Browse Nearby Words

lumped (up)

lumpen

lumping

See all Nearby Words

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“Lumpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumpen. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of lumpen

adjective

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