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

The three leads rightly received Best Actress honors in the Un Certain Regard section for their raw portrayal of the headstrong women at the center of an unraveling middle-class family in San José, Costa Rica. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2026 How do two middle-class lads in ratty threads, who might very well have both been played by Robert Pattinson, fast-track an appointment with Jesus? — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026

Noun

During his first two terms, a commodities boom helped lift millions of Brazilians out of poverty and into the middle class. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 Commenters noted that the wealthy buyers would by then be long gone, with only the middle class wandering the aisles and purchasing nothing. — News Desk, Artforum, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for middle-class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class

Adjective

Disease that has spread to those organs is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.

— Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
They were frustrated with teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools, including overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.

— James Cirrone , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of poor

Noun

Research from the Diamond diversity monitor has revealed the scale of the UK TV industry’s working class problem, and found that the problem infects both the upper and lower echelons of the sector.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2026
In 1381, England’s working class grabbed their pitchforks and rose against tyrannical landlords, extortionate taxes, and the stranglehold of serfdom.

— Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of working class

Adjective

Doctrinaire critics accused her of being bourgeois, formalist, decadent.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Its formless body accommodated slouching, lounging or lying down, selling freedom from both conventional posture and the bourgeois living room.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of bourgeois

Noun

Wilde stars with and directs a stellar trio — Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton — in an anxiety-inducing drama of a dinner party between a pair of extremely differing yet similarly bourgeoisie couples.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
When the arcade first opened, Europe was navigating industrialization, the rise of the urban bourgeoisie, and the emergence of modern ready-to-wear fashion.

— Eleonora Giordani, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of bourgeoisie

Adjective

The actor wore a long black leather coat over a simple black tank, paired with straight-leg blue jeans cinched with a leather belt.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2026
The company played with flexible workdays instead of rigid schedules, clearer windows for collaboration, simpler rules for meetings, better ways to share and document work, and more intentional reasons for coming together in person.

— Deborah Lovich, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of simple

Adjective

Its founders, Tomm Moore, Paul Young and Nora Twomey, met while studying animation at Ballyfermot College, a vocational school in a working-class Dublin suburb.

— Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
But, ultimately, Brown lost because many working-class voters had moved on from the Democrats.

— Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of working-class

Browse Nearby Words

middle-agers

middle-class

middle class

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Style

“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of middle-class

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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