plebeianly
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of plebeian in a Sentence
Adjective
wondered what the people at the country club would think of his plebeian origins
Recent Examples on the Web
BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023
In practice, the plebeians (the general citizenry) had fewer voting rights than the aristocratic patricians.
—National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019
The second-class plebeians worked the farms, baked the bread and built the walls.
—Bret Stetka, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2019
But unlike us plebeians, the model got to come back as an adult and put her own stamp on the iconic toy store, which is reopening at 30 Rockefeller Center on November 16.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 25 Oct. 2018
Snob is an 18th-century term for a cobbler's apprentice and, by extension, for plebeians in general, like me.
—P.j. O'Rourke, Town & Country, 15 Sep. 2016
Celebrities surprising unsuspecting plebeians is practically a cottage industry at this point.
—New York Times, 11 May 2018
Running dreams, for runners and plebeians nonrunners alike, are totally common and take myriad forms with boundless interpretations.
—Grace Perry, Outside Online, 10 Apr. 2018
That is because the Roman Forum began as a market and became the place where patricians would meet plebeians and press the flesh.
—Ron Grossman, chicagotribune.com, 26 Mar. 2018
Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 4 Aug. 2023
Wide fenders, a menacing front fascia, and GR Corolla–specific wheels are only the tip of the iceberg that separates Toyota's hottest hatch from its more plebeian Corolla sibling.
—Greg Fink, Car and Driver, 1 Apr. 2022
The Lexus ES is the brand's entry-level luxury sedan and shares a mechanical relationship with the more plebeian Toyota Camry.
—Ryan Zummallen, Star Tribune, 2 June 2021
But there are precious few supercars anymore that aren't force-fed air by multiple turbos, and all-wheel drive has become just as ubiquitous in more plebeian autos.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 17 Mar. 2020
The reported output figures of at least 400 horsepower and 361 lb-ft of torque for the STI are new, though, and surprising, given that this engine makes 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque in its more plebeian applications.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 27 Feb. 2020
That's right — getting a hole in one for Simpson is like yawning for plebeian humans.
—Katherine Fitzgerald, azcentral, 1 Feb. 2020
Behind the film lie the Panama Papers—the millions of files, leaked in 2016, that demonstrated how the wealthy stash their moola offshore and thereby avoid the plebeian vulgarity of tax.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2019
Once a month, he and Trudy - a registered nurse - volunteer their time at a free medical clinic in Arlington, Virginia, treating the uninsured for problems as plebeian as hemorrhoids.
—oregonlive, 5 Oct. 2019
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Noun
Duckbill is the latest company that wants to make a personal assistant available to us plebeians, starting at $99 a month.
—BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023
In practice, the plebeians (the general citizenry) had fewer voting rights than the aristocratic patricians.
—National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019
The second-class plebeians worked the farms, baked the bread and built the walls.
—Bret Stetka, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2019
But unlike us plebeians, the model got to come back as an adult and put her own stamp on the iconic toy store, which is reopening at 30 Rockefeller Center on November 16.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 25 Oct. 2018
Snob is an 18th-century term for a cobbler's apprentice and, by extension, for plebeians in general, like me.
—P.j. O'Rourke, Town & Country, 15 Sep. 2016
Celebrities surprising unsuspecting plebeians is practically a cottage industry at this point.
—New York Times, 11 May 2018
Running dreams, for runners and plebeians nonrunners alike, are totally common and take myriad forms with boundless interpretations.
—Grace Perry, Outside Online, 10 Apr. 2018
That is because the Roman Forum began as a market and became the place where patricians would meet plebeians and press the flesh.
—Ron Grossman, chicagotribune.com, 26 Mar. 2018
Adjective
View Photos These plebeian sedans don't exhibit the manic price inflation seen in much of the automotive market.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 4 Aug. 2023
Wide fenders, a menacing front fascia, and GR Corolla–specific wheels are only the tip of the iceberg that separates Toyota's hottest hatch from its more plebeian Corolla sibling.
—Greg Fink, Car and Driver, 1 Apr. 2022
The Lexus ES is the brand's entry-level luxury sedan and shares a mechanical relationship with the more plebeian Toyota Camry.
—Ryan Zummallen, Star Tribune, 2 June 2021
But there are precious few supercars anymore that aren't force-fed air by multiple turbos, and all-wheel drive has become just as ubiquitous in more plebeian autos.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 17 Mar. 2020
The reported output figures of at least 400 horsepower and 361 lb-ft of torque for the STI are new, though, and surprising, given that this engine makes 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque in its more plebeian applications.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 27 Feb. 2020
That's right — getting a hole in one for Simpson is like yawning for plebeian humans.
—Katherine Fitzgerald, azcentral, 1 Feb. 2020
Behind the film lie the Panama Papers—the millions of files, leaked in 2016, that demonstrated how the wealthy stash their moola offshore and thereby avoid the plebeian vulgarity of tax.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2019
Once a month, he and Trudy - a registered nurse - volunteer their time at a free medical clinic in Arlington, Virginia, treating the uninsured for problems as plebeian as hemorrhoids.
—oregonlive, 5 Oct. 2019
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plebeian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near plebeian
Cite this Entry
“Plebeian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plebeian. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
plebeian
noun
ple·be·ian
pli-ˈbē-(y)ən
1
: a member of the common people in ancient Rome
2
: one of the common people
plebeian
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on plebeian
Nglish: Translation of plebeian for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of plebeian for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about plebeian
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