bourgeoisie

noun bour·geoi·sie \ ˌbu̇(r)zh-ˌwä-ˈzē \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of bourgeoisie

1 : middle class

members of the bourgeoisie

; also plural in construction : members of the middle class

how the bourgeoisie are represented in the novel

2 : a class or group of people with social behavior and political views held to be influenced by private-property interest : a social order dominated by capitalists or bourgeois (see ²bourgeois 2)

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Recent Examples of bourgeoisie from the Web

The period saw a fruitful connection between the literate bourgeoisie (then a minority but growing in social power) and their reading matter.

— john sutherland, New York Times, "We Are What We Read," 2 Jan. 2018
Perhaps because, in Gaudí’s mind, this is precisely what the emergent Catalan bourgeoisie wanted: a luxurious and foreign vitality that pushed edges without bending or breaking them.

— kenyon gradert, WSJ, "Antoni Gaudí’s Surprisingly Straight Structure," 9 Mar. 2018
Not so at Chloe, where in her second runway outing, new creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi solidified her plan to both reference and disrupt the codes of the house associated with 1970s boho dressing and the French bourgeoisie.

— booth moore, The Hollywood Reporter, "A Sophomore Slump and a Sophomore Jump at Lanvin and Chloe," 1 Mar. 2018
Her studies were interrupted in 1949 when she was expelled from university in a purge of the bourgeoisie: Her father was a landowner, and therefore unpalatable to the Communist regime.

— anna codrea-rado, New York Times, "Still Making Art, and Sly Jokes, at Age 91," 19 Feb. 2018
In spite of the palatial surroundings of Buda Castle, their majesties espoused a well-mannered, pleasant, successful family life for themselves and their subjects, something much admired by the rising bourgeoisie of the early 19th century.

— NOLA.com, "Mystic Club travels to 19th-century Hungary," 11 Feb. 2018
Some of his most notable works include Battleship Potemkin, Strike, and The General Line — films that depict the struggle of the poor and working class against the ruling bourgeoisie.

— wandera hussein, Billboard, "Google Doodle Celebrates Russian Artist Sergei Eisenstein's 120th Birthday," 22 Jan. 2018
Before that, novels were about the upper classes, or the bourgeoisie, but never the people who work or the poor.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "'Les Mis' is back in Philly, and the composer himself gave us some thoughts on why it's aged so well," 8 Jan. 2018
From then on, the czar and the bourgeoisie were on borrowed time. ********** The Romanov dynasty stood for more than 300 years.

— olga ingurazova, Smithsonian, "What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?," 29 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bourgeoisie.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.