gentrification

noun

gen·​tri·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjen-trə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

: a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents

a neighborhood undergoing gentrification

"This week, we're talking about gentrification. Middle-class people move in. Property values and rents rise. Things change and improve but not for everyone. …"

—Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Opposition is also stoked by fear of gentrification—displacement of longtime residents through higher rents or property taxes.

—Steven Litt

The construction of luxury housing and gentrification of neighborhoods is pushing families out of communities they have called home for years.

—Heidi Romanish and David Snyder

In an effort to keep gentrification from creeping in the same way into the 30th Ward … Jessica Gutierrez wants to keep a lid on property taxes and inform residents about affordable housing.

—Alexandra Arriaga

Examples of gentrification in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Different cafés but same blocks—blame gentrification. —Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026

Artists have also used their craft to speak out against gentrification. —Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

Redevelopment hopes are now pinned to gentrification, the movement by the middle class to resettle and reclaim deteriorated urban neighborhoods. —Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

The elimination of Single Room Occupancies, gentrification, and real estate policies recreated the mass homelessness last seen during the Great Depressions of the 1930s. —Norman Siegel, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

gentry + -ification

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gentrification

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration