as in arriviste
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
the kind of trophy house that a parvenu buys to prove to people, and to himself, that he has indeed arrived
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Recent Examples of parvenu
Spurrier, who predominantly sold French vintages, wasn’t expecting anything other than a trouncing for the parvenu.
—
Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 May 2026
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
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—Lili Anolik, Vanities, 19 June 2017
Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 May 2026
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
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—Lili Anolik, Vanities, 19 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parvenu
Noun
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And yet, the digital arrivistes could only gain so much traction with a broader customer base and needed a boost from tie-ins with old-school counterparts.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
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Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Those upstarts include the corporate card contender Ramp, which is raising funds at a $40 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal.—
Ben Weiss,
Fortune,
27 May 2026
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That sort of sample size is more than enough to infuse the young upstarts with extreme confidence, perhaps countering the massive gap in playoff experience that was supposed to be the Spurs’ undoing.—
Sam Amick,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
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Vandelli thinks Stilley is nouveau riche; Stilley thinks Vandelli is a bully.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
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Emulation of upper-crust speech norms became popular among the nouveau riche.—
Valerie M. Fridland,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Daddy’s little girl and favorite adventurer.—
Audrey Schmidt,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
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The Multi-Rack variant also comes with a stain-resistant load area floor and is designed to double as an effective tiny adventurer, DIY transporter, everyday bag carrier and all-around cargo workhorse.—
C.C. Weiss
May 19,
New Atlas,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parvenu.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parvenu. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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