as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a kind of music that has traditionally appealed to the lumpen segment of the musical audience
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Recent Examples of lumpen
But the earlier dolls were crude, lumpen things, a cross between a beanbag and a sculpted potato.
—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.
—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—
New York Times,
20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—
Globe Staff,
BostonGlobe.com,
6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
10 Dec. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—
Kelly Crow,
WSJ,
6 July 2021
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.
—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—
New York Times,
20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—
Globe Staff,
BostonGlobe.com,
6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
10 Dec. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—
Kelly Crow,
WSJ,
6 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumpen
Adjective
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Hien immediately fell to the ground and had to be helped off the pitch with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.
-
Wenski’s remarks come as many in South Florida, the heart of the Haitian community in the country, are reeling after the justices reversed a lower court ruling upholding TPS protections for Haitians.
Adjective
-
But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.
-
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.
Adjective
-
Place unwashed strawberries in an open container lined with paper towels to absorb excess humidity for optimal storage.
-
They’re filmed in unfinished basements or drafty garages; mothers wear bulky winter coats over pajamas, their hair sometimes appearing unwashed, their desperation for a moment alone palpable.
Adjective
-
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.
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Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.
Adjective
-
In recent years, more and more students from lower-class families have been able to attend universities.
Adjective
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The president can be assured that his low-life actions will eliminate him as a candidate to get to Heaven.
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Inside, everything was magically transformed into a 1930s Parisian low-life dive.
Adjective
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Some Wordlers also play Competitive Wordle against friends, family, the Wordle Bot or even against me, your humble narrator.
-
Oxygen transfer involves several interacting processes; many of them converge at the humble cork.
Adjective
-
In recent years, Trae Young has repeatedly tormented the Knicks at the famed Madison Square Garden, turning clutch shots and postgame showmanship into vulgar chants from New York fans.
-
This isn’t about the vulgar prices now being charged to get into the building and Celebrity Row.
Cite this Entry
“Lumpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumpen. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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