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 Influential courtiers orbited more closely than those with less gravity, and peasants weren’t part of the picture. — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026 Sinclair confessed that his only direct experience with the motion picture business was as the financial backer of Sergei Eisenstein’s Thunder Over Mexico (1933), a documentary ethnography of Mexican peasant life. — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026 The video sweeps around a reveling fiefdom, showing everyone from peasants to dukes partying and getting it on. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 In the video version, a ragtag group of Von Trapp Family-esque singers in mountain peasant regalia sing a song, with the paterfamilias (Kjartansson) leading on jazz guitar. — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for peasant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peasant
  1. clown
  2. provincial
  3. peon
  4. gawk
  5. mountaineer
Noun
  • Two clowns in serious legal trouble colluded to put the entire planet in an economic crisis.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The procession will also welcome 52 floats, 31 clown crews, nine specialty units (such as trycaloons, or balloons ridden on tricycles), seven marching bands, and five balloonicles (that’s a balloon-vehicle hybrid).
    — Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of clown
Noun
  • The district elected a Western Canada Concept separatist in a 1982 provincial by-election.
    — Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • 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
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
  • Oscar winners Vasarahelyi and Chin’s original intent was to document the quest of Morrison and his life partner, elite ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson, to summit the dangerous north face of Everest and ski down the formidable Hornbein Couloir.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The director recalls watching footage of the mountaineer shopping for back-to-school supplies for her children.
    — Nigel Smith, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 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 11 Nov. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on peasant

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about peasant

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