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
as in working class
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of middle-class
Ann Larson, Time, 11 June 2026
The state's median household income is $64,526, with the middle-class income range spanning from a lower bound of $43,017 to an upper bound of $129,052.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2026
Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 11 June 2026
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning between two-thirds and two times the median income.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Adjective
At some stores, as late as the early 1990s, unionized employees earned middle-class wages.
—Ann Larson, Time, 11 June 2026
The state's median household income is $64,526, with the middle-class income range spanning from a lower bound of $43,017 to an upper bound of $129,052.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2026
Noun
Since there were few stars to break the bank for, the middle class benefited the most.
—Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 11 June 2026
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning between two-thirds and two times the median income.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class
Adjective
-
These conditions can increase your vulnerability to adverse effects from poor air quality.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
16 June 2026
-
Equating the Holocaust to Gaza is in extremely poor taste.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Noun
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The third season, Devil In Silver, is based on the book by Victor LaValle, about a working class man mistakenly committed to a psychiatric hospital where things get very, very dark.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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To read Carver, who was a working class writer but with a literary sophistication underneath, was really electrifying to me.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
Noun
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His mother was born into Rome’s commercial bourgeoisie, but she had essentially been disinherited, nose-diving into the working class with a pair of children to raise.—
Andrea Bajani,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
-
Pratt, who did not respond to a request for comment, lost his Pacific Palisades home in the fires and has won over many frustrated city residents with his anti-establishment message and cheeky AI videos — including one casting him as Batman, taking on a corrupt Democratic bourgeoisie.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
Adjective
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Armando Chavez, owner of local business NorCal Siders, was brought in for a simple roof patch-up but left with a big idea.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
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The cause can be something as simple as a lack of water or more complex, like fungal wilt diseases, tomato wilt viruses, walnut toxicity, or boring insects.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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Vance’s first book catapulted him to prominence with its portrait of working-class white America.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2026
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Graying Larry Johnson, who hit a legendary four-point shot in the 1999 playoffs, leading an eight-seed to the Finals for the first and only time, is often in the house, as is Patrick Ewing, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, in his working-class cap.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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