1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

canaille

noun

Definition of canaillenext
as in proletarian

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for canaille
  1. proletarian
  2. plebeian
  3. commoner
  4. peasant
Noun
  • Now artists, who had only recently emerged as solo entrepreneurs, reverted to their erstwhile status as proletarians—indeed, as migrant workers.
    — Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Fundamentally, the proletarian forfeits not so much income as individual freedom and the sovereignty of his or her class.
    — Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of proletarian
Noun
  • In the latter years of the Roman Republic, landowners amassed unprecedented riches while plebeians floundered, spawning resentment that infected many corners of society.
    — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
  • How could the bookseller trust two random plebeians off the street?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of plebeian
Noun
  • The former couple had broken up in 1955, as Margaret weighed losing her royal income and claim to the throne against marrying Townsend (a commoner and divorcé).
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Born in 1937, his life was marked by war, exile, his love for the commoner Sonja, his long apprenticeship as crown prince, and, finally, more than three decades on the throne.
    — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of commoner
Noun
  • Sinclair confessed that his only direct experience with the motion picture business was as the financial backer of Sergei Eisenstein’s Thunder Over Mexico (1933), a documentary ethnography of Mexican peasant life.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The video sweeps around a reveling fiefdom, showing everyone from peasants to dukes partying and getting it on.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of peasant
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.

Browse Nearby Words

can't-miss
canaille
canailles
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Canaille.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canaille. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All