peasant

noun

Definition of peasantnext
as in clown
a person of low social status Those snobs treat anyone who lives on the "wrong" side of town like an insignificant peasant.

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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 peasant The historian Eugen Weber wrote influentially of how peasants who spoke languages like Occitan, Breton, or Basque became—or, more honestly, were made—Frenchmen. — Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 Andrew Garfield trades modern superheroes for medieval revolution in the trailer for The Uprising, Paul Greengrass’ historical drama inspired by England’s 1381 peasant revolt. — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026 The narrative centers on the early careers and shifting dynamic between legendary figures Cao Cao and Yuan Shao as political corruption, peasant rebellions, and personal ambitions push the capital of Luoyang into absolute chaos. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 July 2026 Those immigration conditions led to decades of stateside stereotypes of Italians as poor and violent and their diet ridiculed as peasant grub. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for peasant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peasant
  1. clown
  2. provincial
  3. peon
  4. gawk
  5. mountaineer
Noun
  • This take on the mad clown of Gotham is less Jack Nicholson and George Romero, choosing a more stoic approach inspired by Conrad Veidt silent films and German expressionism.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
  • Mimi said one customer had a picture of a scary clown in his profile and his name listed as MURDER, in all caps.
    — Meena Thiruvengadam, Travel + Leisure, 21 July 2026
Definition of clown
Noun
  • Marlowe, the son of a poor Canterbury cobbler, and Shakespeare, the son of a Stratford glover and alderman, were both unlikely artistic geniuses, provincials in a nation in which social class was rigidly fixed.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Sanders is a Catholic priest and former Augustinian provincial in California and lives in the Augustinian community in North Park.
    — Gary Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2025
Definition of provincial
Noun
  • Soon there was an altercation at the front desk, when a Haitian upbraided the American peons about not getting her free stuff fast enough.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Not only does the peon and con man Tom end up refashioning himself as the rich and carefree Dickie, but Highsmith’s novel itself was a retelling of Henry James’s The Ambassadors.
    — Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2024
Definition of peon
Noun
  • Carrie raves to Seema about her creative connection with Duncan, and during another writing session, Duncan helps Carrie with her faulty printer and gawks at her closet full of designer dresses and shoes.
    — Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 31 July 2025
  • The badaud, by contrast, is always liable to form a group or crowd, either for a mass gawk or some communal response.
    — Julian Barnes, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2022
Definition of gawk
Noun
  • The mythological home of the gods attracts hikers and mountaineers from across the world.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 July 2026
  • There are élite mountaineers who, starting very early, might manage it.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of mountaineer

Browse Nearby Words

pearls
peasant
peasantry
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Cite this Entry

“Peasant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peasant. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on peasant

Nglish: Translation of peasant for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about peasant

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