1
: a member of the petite bourgeoisie
petit bourgeois
adjective
Examples of petit bourgeois in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Centerless voids of petit bourgeois bros.
—
Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
In 1956, the Hungarian revolutionary was Time magazine’s Man of the Year, but these days the New York Times runs a series of odes to communism and Teen Vogue will tell its readers about the necessity crushing property rights and controlling the petit bourgeois.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 12 Aug. 2020
Sigismund Shlomo Freud was born in the town of Freiberg, now Příbor, Czechia, in 1856, to a petit bourgeois family.
—Patrick Blanchfield, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2022
In extremis, the chair became the MacGuffin from a sub-Balzac novel of petit bourgeois succession.
—Lucy Sante, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022
Glyn was also—unexpectedly for those of us who thought communists were louche types with disdain for the protocols of petit bourgeois society—a rigid disciplinarian.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 21 June 2021
Consider Brooklyn, the city’s most populous borough, once synonymous with the petit bourgeois aspirations of its denizens but now a global emblem of cool.
—Daniel Akst, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2021
See More
Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020
In 1956, the Hungarian revolutionary was Time magazine’s Man of the Year, but these days the New York Times runs a series of odes to communism and Teen Vogue will tell its readers about the necessity crushing property rights and controlling the petit bourgeois.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 12 Aug. 2020
Sigismund Shlomo Freud was born in the town of Freiberg, now Příbor, Czechia, in 1856, to a petit bourgeois family.
—Patrick Blanchfield, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2022
In extremis, the chair became the MacGuffin from a sub-Balzac novel of petit bourgeois succession.
—Lucy Sante, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022
Glyn was also—unexpectedly for those of us who thought communists were louche types with disdain for the protocols of petit bourgeois society—a rigid disciplinarian.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 21 June 2021
Consider Brooklyn, the city’s most populous borough, once synonymous with the petit bourgeois aspirations of its denizens but now a global emblem of cool.
—Daniel Akst, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'petit bourgeois.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
French, literally, small bourgeois
First Known Use
1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near petit bourgeois
Cite this Entry
“Petit bourgeois.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petit%20bourgeois. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
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