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

But for generations, especially for the middle class, housing wealth has been key in helping many do better than their parents. — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 30 July 2026 Based on performance, Stroud is worthy of a contract in this middle class. — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 28 July 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

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
In the 1930’s during the Great Depression, stadiums across America evolved further, adding floodlights for night games so that working class fans could still attend.

— Katie Riley, Southern Living, 20 July 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

That approval came despite opposition from grassroots groups that warned the casino would profit from the gambling addiction of vulnerable nearby populations and siphon earnings from working-class residents.

— Len Maniace, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
That gap is not primarily a story about rising working-class racial resentment.

— Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of working-class

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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 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of middle-class

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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