as in parvenu
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position the town's old money immediately shunned these vulgar arrivistes, who may have had the cash but certainly not the class

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of arriviste The underdog pick is Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), an ingenuous arriviste who, long-limbed and blunder-prone, provides much of the show’s comic relief. Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021 Three years ago, Gaga got dinged for being an Oscars arriviste; there could have been a hundred people in the room and not enough of them voted for her in Best Actress. Nate Jones, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2021 But every now and then even captains of industry get taken by surprise, and lately they’ve been kept on their toes by a barrage of novel financial vehicles and the arriviste investors driving up their value. Emily Stewart, Town & Country, 3 June 2021 Though the indigenous Jewish often preserved their own customs (e.g., Romaniotes), by and large they were absorbed by the arriviste Sephardim. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2011 See All Example Sentences for arriviste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arriviste
Noun
  • In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.
    Kevin Mahnken, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2020
  • Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
    Saritha Rai, Fortune, 29 July 2019
Noun
  • Who better to enable than Matas Buzelis, a prized upstart who’s already requested that the staff coach him like an All-Defensive player.
    Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • When Icelandic upstart Play Airlines abruptly shut down operations last week, canceling all flights, the news felt almost anticlimactic.
    Barbara Peterson, AFAR Media, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The company has only one main ambassador, Mike Horn, a Swiss explorer and adventurer, who has worked with the brand for more than 20 years.
    Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025
  • For outdoor enthusiasts For the adventurer on your list, these gifts bring the great outdoors even closer.
    Nora Colomer may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Arriviste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arriviste. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

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