nouveau riche

as in parvenu
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position a nouveau riche who is reportedly using his money to buy his way into Palm Beach society

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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 nouveau riche Arguably the series’ silent star, the jewelry reflects the intense competition among New York’s nouveau riche to outshine one another. Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 8 Aug. 2025 With more romance, shifting power dynamics between the old guard and the nouveau riche and plenty of dramatic twists, there’s a lot to look forward to on Sunday nights this summer. Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025 It was remodeled by its subsequent owners—the brothers who owned the F. W. Woolworth Company—in the style of Versailles, an over-the-top gesture that from a twenty-first-century vantage point looks quintessentially nouveau riche, and quintessentially New Jersey. Hazlitt, 11 June 2025 The prince’s daughter Concetta is initially enamored of Tancredi, but his eye is caught by the beautiful Angelica, daughter of vulgar nouveau riche neighbor Don Calogero. Anthony Paletta, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nouveau riche
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nouveau riche
Noun
  • In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.
    Kevin Mahnken, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2020
  • Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
    Saritha Rai, Fortune, 29 July 2019
Noun
  • How the state’s Democrats decide between Mills and a younger, potentially feistier upstart is likely to reverberate far beyond Maine’s borders.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Actually … For all the newfound parity, there’s a plausible scenario where the same three SEC teams that made last year’s CFP (Texas, Georgia and Tennessee) make it again, along with Alabama, which is not exactly an upstart.
    Seth Emerson, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Loving father, fearless adventurer Chefitz and his wife came to Miami in 1974 for a job at Florida International University for Walli.
    Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
  • But what about the amateur adventurer who also enjoys dusting off and dressing up after a long day on the trail?
    AFAR Media, AFAR Media, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nouveau riche.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nouveau%20riche. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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