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
-
This is especially important for low-income communities and others who rely heavily on the shot for contraception.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Not since Oakland Hills in 2008 — Jeev Milkha Singh and Robert Karlsson at 2-under 68 — has the low score to par after the first round of the PGA Championship been worse than 3 under.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
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
Adjective
-
Store whole raw bell peppers in the refrigerator's crisper drawer, unwashed and unwrapped, for optimal freshness lasting one to two weeks.—
Aly Walansky,
Southern Living,
19 May 2026
-
In-stock items must be returned unused and unwashed.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
28 Apr. 2026
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.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The president can be assured that his low-life actions will eliminate him as a candidate to get to Heaven.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Inside, everything was magically transformed into a 1930s Parisian low-life dive.—
Hamish Bowles,
Vogue,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
My occupations have given me a happy, humble, quiet life, but always nagging in the back of my mind has been a case of impostor syndrome.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Gregory Lorenzi has spent the past 10 years at Brest, where his eye for a bargain helped to catapult the humble Breton club from mid-table mediocrity in Ligue 2 to a third-place finish in Ligue 1 and a fairytale Champions League campaign.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
Glamorous on the verge of vulgar, elegant yet unrestrained, and unmistakably luxurious.—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
17 May 2026
-
Aimed mainly toward men between 18 and 49 years old, hot talk mixed vulgar jokes with talk about pop culture and politics and often took political positions contrary to feminism and liberalism.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
That ignoble mini-streak ends this year.—
Glen Weldon,
NPR,
14 May 2026
-
But her flame was dimmed for far too long by one ignoble record: having the longest streak in Daytime Emmys history of nominations without a win.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lumpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumpen. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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