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
Vanessa A. Alvarez, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
The cost of home ownership has gone up by 50 percent in the last five years nationwide and middle-class workers are suddenly seeing their jobs replaced by AI.
—Alissa Quart
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026
Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
The smaller the budget, the more enforcement will fall on the middle class.
—Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Adjective
In Doral, upper-middle-class professionals and entrepreneurs came to invest in property and businesses when socialist Hugo Chávez won the presidency in the late 1990s.
—Vanessa A. Alvarez, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
The cost of home ownership has gone up by 50 percent in the last five years nationwide and middle-class workers are suddenly seeing their jobs replaced by AI.
—Alissa Quart
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2026
Noun
Shifting the tax burden from the wealthy — from billionaires to small businesses, farmers, the middle class.
—Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
The smaller the budget, the more enforcement will fall on the middle class.
—Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
-
In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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According to his website, he was raised in a working class family that lived in Gallatin and Pendleton counties.—
Jolene Almendarez,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Jan. 2026
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This, together with the fragmented working class and weak community roots of Lindsay’s liberalism, left the city unable to fight the wave of neoliberal austerity measures that faced the city.—
Daniel Wortel-London,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The daughter of an engineer, she was raised in a cultured bourgeois household in the affluent 16th arrondissement and studied ballet at the Conservatoire de Paris.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Dec. 2025
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Nearly 30 years after its premiere, The Ice Storm remains a resonant indictment of bourgeois complacency.—
The Atlantic Culture Desk,
The Atlantic,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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There are things to satirize, trouble, and celebrate about the Black bourgeoisie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 Nov. 2025
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Its leaders sanctioned the mass appropriation of lands from the nobility and their distribution to smaller farmers and the urban bourgeoisie.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Behind the classy presentation is a working-class spirit, one that honors the simplicity of showing up, being yourself and doing your job.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2026
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Anything to help him, with his working-class family background, blend in at USC.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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