MIDDLE CLASS Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

middle-class 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of middle-class

as in poor

belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, as did most of her classmates.

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Dissimilar Words

middle class

2 of 2

noun

as in working class

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Dissimilar Words

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 middle-class

Adjective

Bay Harbor Islands, neighbor to the affluent towns of Bal Harbour, Surfside and Indian Creek Village, is undergoing a transformation from a middle-class enclave into an ultra-luxury haven. — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026 California has the fifth-highest income threshold for middle-class households in the country, with a 2026 middle-class income range of $66,766 to $200,298. — Ruyuan Li. Summary Produced By Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Noun

Earning a post-high school degree, whether an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, is the single most common determinant in moving someone from low income to middle class. — Douglas A. Hicks, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026 Even after the 1995 legislature created a new credit to offset a portion of local property taxes paid by the middle class, that group and the wealthy both paid very similar effective rates for most of the income tax’s first two decades. — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for middle-class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class

Adjective

But tensions have opened up between data center boosters and some community organizations that want to see more jobs and economic benefits go to local residents, especially predominantly poor Hispanic farm and food processing workers.

— Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Conventional wisdom usually attributes those failures to changing markets, disruptive competitors, or poor leadership.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of poor

Noun

Did the party go too far left and alienate working class voters?

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Talarico aims to crack down on data centers and establish an artificial intelligence dividend so working class people will have a share in the booming industry.

— Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of working class

Adjective

In sharp contrast to the first-generation members of the Frankfurt School, Habermas came from a petit-bourgeois, culturally conservative Protestant milieu, his family name going back to sixteenth-century Thuringian cobblers.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Their attempts to destroy the bourgeois family were, like the efforts of Suzanna’s mother and grandmother, ambivalent and half-hearted.

— Julius Taranto, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

Definition of bourgeois

Noun

The traditional Marxist framework may explain why Flaubert, the conflicted son of a successful provincial surgeon, wrote naturalistic novels mocking the grandiose aspirations of the rural bourgeoisie, Sartre conceded.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 July 2026
For a long time, the lifestyles and foibles of the modest bourgeoisie were a mainstay of art-house cinema, with urbane, upscale audiences happy to turn out to see versions of their own lives depicted on the screen.

— Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026

Definition of bourgeoisie

Adjective

The task seemed like a simple one for a digital agent, as the booking form was online.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026
Mungiu refuses to supply easy answers or simple paths to identification in this compelling provocation, which poses unresolvable questions to viewers about our biases and presumptions.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of simple

Adjective

Espi was born into a working-class family with no connection to football, 40 kilometres from Valencia, in the neighbouring municipality of Tavernes de Valldigna.

— Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
As economic anxiety reshapes American masculinity, a growing subculture of young and working-class men is turning to maxxing out their bodies as a way to reclaim value in a labor market that increasingly devalues physical work.

— Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of working-class

Browse Nearby Words

middle-agers

middle-class

middle class

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of middle-class

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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