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
Schmid’s wife served Rüeblitorte, a Swiss carrot cake that manages bourgeois indulgence with a vegetable alibi.
—
Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Founder Marthe Allard, a Burgundian home cook, began cooking her way into the hearts of locals in 1932, and her daughter-in-law, Fernande, went on to earn two Michelin stars for her bourgeois dishes—frogs’ legs, duckling fillet with olives, and Savarin au rhum.
—Lindsey Tramuta, Saveur, 19 Nov. 2025
By then, the preeminent fashion genius of the third quarter of the 20th century and the designer so often credited with inventing the modern woman’s wardrobe had handed prêt-à-porter over to his assistants, who clung as if by commandment to the house dogma of bourgeois Parisian elegance.
—Rob Haskell, Vogue, 20 Oct. 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
See All Example Sentences for bourgeois
Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Founder Marthe Allard, a Burgundian home cook, began cooking her way into the hearts of locals in 1932, and her daughter-in-law, Fernande, went on to earn two Michelin stars for her bourgeois dishes—frogs’ legs, duckling fillet with olives, and Savarin au rhum.
—Lindsey Tramuta, Saveur, 19 Nov. 2025
By then, the preeminent fashion genius of the third quarter of the 20th century and the designer so often credited with inventing the modern woman’s wardrobe had handed prêt-à-porter over to his assistants, who clung as if by commandment to the house dogma of bourgeois Parisian elegance.
—Rob Haskell, Vogue, 20 Oct. 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
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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Look for urea-free fertilizer that helps the plant absorb nitrogen more efficiently, and make sure to flush out the potting medium with plain water each month to prevent salt buildup that can harm the roots.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
8 Jan. 2026
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The goats prefer their trees plain.—
Noel Brennan,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bourgeois.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bourgeois. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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