as in arriviste
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
the kind of trophy house that a parvenu buys to prove to people, and to himself, that he has indeed arrived
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of parvenu
Spurrier, who predominantly sold French vintages, wasn’t expecting anything other than a trouncing for the parvenu.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 May 2026
In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.
—
Kevin Mahnken,
The New Republic,
1 Sep. 2020
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
—
Saritha Rai,
Fortune,
29 July 2019
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—
Lili Anolik,
Vanities,
19 June 2017
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 May 2026
In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.
—
Kevin Mahnken,
The New Republic,
1 Sep. 2020
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
—
Saritha Rai,
Fortune,
29 July 2019
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—
Lili Anolik,
Vanities,
19 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parvenu
Noun
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And yet, the digital arrivistes could only gain so much traction with a broader customer base and needed a boost from tie-ins with old-school counterparts.
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Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.
Noun
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More traditional news outlets are growing comfortable with less formal presentations and personalities, part of a gradual coming together of stories news brands and new, digital upstarts who are winning significant slices of attention through newsletters, podcasts and subscription media products.
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Time and time again in the history of technology, monopolistic industry leaders that long seemed invincible—from Xerox to IBM to AT&T—have proven vulnerable to agile upstarts and technology advances that broke markets wide open by lowering costs, expanding supply and leapfrogging capabilities.
Noun
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Vandelli thinks Stilley is nouveau riche; Stilley thinks Vandelli is a bully.
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Emulation of upper-crust speech norms became popular among the nouveau riche.
Noun
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Just like a certain adventurer with some mean, mean pride, Rush are currently embarking on their fiftieth anniversary tour, a prog-rock pilgrimage that will take them around the world and back for the next year.
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Whether your dad's an adventurer or casual explorer, this new slip-in style is a shoo-in to make your dad's Father's day — scratch that, his year.
Cite this Entry
“Parvenu.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parvenu. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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