proletariat

noun pro·le·tar·i·at \ ˌprō-lə-ˈter-ē-ət , -ē-ˌat \

Definition of proletariat

1 :the laboring class; especially :the class of industrial workers who lack their own means of production and hence sell their labor to live

2 :the lowest social or economic class of a community

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Examples of proletariat in a Sentence

the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution

Recent Examples of proletariat from the Web

The proletariat is coming with pitchforks. ************** Todd Masson can be reached at tmasson@nola.com or 504.232.3054.

— todd masson, NOLA.com, "BASS prohibition must spur change to Louisiana's ridiculous water-access policy," 11 Aug. 2017
While Beijing can quell sporadic workers’ protests by buying people off, close links between intellectuals and the proletariat can make for an empowered opposition.

— diana fu, Washington Post, "Why is Beijing afraid of Chinese feminists?," 27 July 2017
What corporate or political leader wouldn't want a happy, chipped workforce and happily chipped citizens, so proletariats might be more productive in their daily lives?

— john kass, chicagotribune.com, "Americans microchipped in the land of the free," 26 July 2017
On July 15th a Soviet-era statue of Friedrich Engels was installed in Manchester, where the Marxist thinker lived and wrote about the condition of the proletariat.

— The Economist, "Engels returns to Manchester," 20 July 2017
Merridale writes, but to undermine the provisional government and establish a dictatorship in the name of the proletariat.

— joshua rubenstein, New York Times, "Lenin’s Return From Exile Put Russia on the Fast Track to Revolution," 9 June 2017
Red Army troops beat and starved the proletariat into submission.

— terry hartle, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Russian Revolution' is a superb account of this seminal event," 1 June 2017
The Chevrolet Bolt, the proletariat machine that beat his nascent Model 3 to market by the better part of a year, is, well, not bolting at all.

— kyle stock, Bloomberg.com, "Chevy’s Bolt Creeps Along While Tesla Readies For a Sprint," 1 June 2017
If Rubchinskiy and Gvasalia are dressing us as members of the proletariat, Sergeenko’s clothes are an odd conflation of peasants and princesses — the garb of the former with the price tags of the latter.

— alexander fury, New York Times, "Back in the U.S.S.R.: Russia’s Fashion Resurgence," 18 Apr. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of proletariat

French prolétariat, from Latin proletarius

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First Known Use: 1847

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proletariat Synonyms

Synonyms

rabble, rabblement, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff, rout, scum, tag, rag, and bobtail (or tagrag and bobtail), trash, unwashed

Antonyms

A-list, aristocracy, elite, gentry, quality, society, upper class, upper crust

Related Words

dregs; commoners, commons, herd, hoi polloi, masses, millions, mob, multitude, people, plebeians, populace, public, rank and file; bourgeoisie, middle class, working class

Near Antonyms

elect, establishment; gentlefolk (also gentlefolks), nobility, peerage

Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

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See words that rhyme with proletariat Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for proletariat Spanish Central: Translation of proletariat Nglish: Translation of proletariat for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of proletariat for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about proletariat

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proletariat

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