Synonyms of proletarian

proletarian 1 of 2

adjective

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank

a self-made Internet magnate who is not at all ashamed of his proletarian background

Synonyms & Similar Words

• low
• plebeian
• lower-class
• lumpen
• humble
• unwashed
• ignoble
• low-life
• lowly
• bourgeois
• vulgar
• inferior
• common
• prole
• poor
• middle-class
• mean
• lowborn
• working-class
• baseborn
• simple
• plain
• downscale
• déclassé
• down-market

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• aristocratic
• upper-class
• great
• noble
• patrician
• high
• genteel
• grand
• lofty
• gentle
• upper-crust
• prominent
• blue-blooded
• highborn
• eminent
• illustrious
• notable
• highbred
• wellborn

proletarian

2 of 2

noun

as in plebeian

Related Words

• plebeian
• prole
• commoner
• pleb
• everyman
• John Doe
• little man
• little guy
• Joe Blow
• laborer
• lug
• worker
• everywoman
• plain Jane
• slob
• Joe Six-Pack
• peon

Dissimilar Words

• VIP
• bigwig
• big wheel
• fat cat
• big cheese
• mover and shaker
• big shot

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of proletarian

Adjective

But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold. — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026

These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship. — Time, 23 Oct. 2025

This new proletarian culture was personified in the ideal of the New Soviet Man. — Sonja Fritzsche, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025

Noun

Now artists, who had only recently emerged as solo entrepreneurs, reverted to their erstwhile status as proletarians—indeed, as migrant workers. — Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025

Fundamentally, the proletarian forfeits not so much income as individual freedom and the sovereignty of his or her class. — Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025

On the one hand, the proletarian contributes every bit of on-the-clock activity to the value of the resulting commodity. — Benjamin Kunkel, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025

The song, now considered a protest anthem, is about a social revolution in which French proletarians stand against the ruling class — in this case, an oppressive monarchy. — Raven Brunner, People.com, 24 Feb. 2025

As a proudly class-conscious proletarian, Martin is naturally supportive of worker strikes. — J. Hoberman, The New York Review of Books, 22 Oct. 2020

Yet modern liberalism fits the modern world of high human capital better than the old rightish model of dim-witted peasants properly led by the aristocracy or the old leftish model of gormless proletarians properly led by The Party. — The Economist, 8 Jan. 2020

Owing to the extensive use of machinery and to division of labour, the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm for the workman. — Tristram Hunt, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019