as in middle-class
belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank
The neighborhood was occupied primarily by bourgeois families.
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Recent Examples of bourgeois
But part of Kafka’s drive is something altogether less tangible; art was soon to enter its avant-garde phase in the early 20th century, and the writer turns out to be much more bohemian than his bourgeois upbringing suggests, showing a keen interest in underground Yiddish theater.
—
Damon Wise, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
The film’s portrayal of Kafka as a misunderstood genius stymied by bourgeois capitalist priorities is sympathetic but hardly radical, while its engagement with his actual work is limited, give or take some canny quotation in Marek Epstein’s script.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025
Domesticity presented an existential challenge to the Communist war on bourgeois weakness and materialism.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Things are no longer like that in bourgeois society.
—Walter Benjamin, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bourgeois
Damon Wise, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
The film’s portrayal of Kafka as a misunderstood genius stymied by bourgeois capitalist priorities is sympathetic but hardly radical, while its engagement with his actual work is limited, give or take some canny quotation in Marek Epstein’s script.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025
Domesticity presented an existential challenge to the Communist war on bourgeois weakness and materialism.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Things are no longer like that in bourgeois society.
—Walter Benjamin, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bourgeois
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bourgeois
Adjective
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In the primary, Mamdani won in many upper-middle-class areas and gentrifying neighborhoods while Cuomo carried working-class Black, Latino and White areas.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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In Disillusioned, published last year, the journalist Benjamin Herold tracks how the school district in his middle-class Pennsylvania suburb of Penn Hills ended up $172 million in debt, leading to mass furloughs, service reductions, and, inevitably, higher property taxes.—
Michael Waters,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Mamdani worked with Bichotte Hermelyn and other Black city leaders to meet with voters, including frequent church stops in the city's working-class outer boroughs.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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In the early twentieth century, two groups of Indians living in America, young intellectuals and working-class laborers, had very different experiences of the country.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Freshly caught fish often hang in plain sight, and the selection changes so frequently that a whiteboard keeps track of what’s available.—
Aaron Randolph,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Nov. 2025
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To create your own, write a name on a plain paper gift tag.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bourgeois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bourgeois. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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