parvenus

Definition of parvenusnext
plural of parvenu
as in arrivistes
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
See the Dictionary Definition 

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for parvenus
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • The desire to merge audiences — younger viewers for the mainstream news groups and broader audiences for the digital upstarts — is at the crux of many of these new agreements, which are expected to get more ambitious as time progresses.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
  • In their place are upstarts such as the Philadelphia Flyers, who last qualified in 2020.
    John Wawrow, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Parvenus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parvenus. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on parvenus

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster