LOWER-CLASS Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

lower-class

adjective

ˌlō-ər-ˈklas

Definition of lower-class

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank they were finally earning enough to get out of the lower-class tax bracket

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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 lower-class In recent years, more and more students from lower-class families have been able to attend universities. — The Atlantic, 16 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lower-class

Adjective

The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

— Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Locally heavy rain will quickly reduce visibility and result in ponding of water on roadways, standing water in low lying areas, and minor flooding of creeks, streams, and areas of poor drainage.

— NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 8 July 2026

Definition of low

Adjective

Linen and cotton, cooling garments, were too plebeian; the people posed nobly for street-style social-media accounts in leather jackets and low-slung jorts.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Jan. 2026

Definition of plebeian

Adjective

But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.

— Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship.

— Time, Time, 23 Oct. 2025

Definition of proletarian

Adjective

Some Wordlers also play Competitive Wordle against friends, family, the Wordle Bot or even against me, your humble narrator.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Johnson Products Company — which would later go on to manufacture Ultra Sheen, Classy Curl, Curly Perm and men’s cologne line Black Tie — was made from humble beginnings, grit and a revolutionary product idea.

— Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026

Definition of humble

Adjective

Over the last 15 years, employees have increasingly sued large employers over unnecessarily high fees or inferior investment options.

— Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 8 July 2026
The results have invariably been uglier, longer, inferior versions of films people already know and love, which provide a cheap rush of nostalgia but don’t offer any surprises or challenges.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 8 July 2026

Definition of inferior

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lower

lower-class

lowered

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“Lower-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lower-class. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of lower-class

adjective

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