as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution
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Recent Examples of proletariat
Inspired by Karl Marx, the Bolsheviks dreamed of a world communist revolution and held special expectations for Germany, Marx’s homeland, and for its proletariat.
—
Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 19 June 2023
Because the exploited—the proletariat—have nothing to fall back on, nowhere further to sink, their liberation would be the liberation of history from class struggle.
—James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 19 June 2023
Because the exploited—the proletariat—have nothing to fall back on, nowhere further to sink, their liberation would be the liberation of history from class struggle.
—James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proletariat
Noun
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Today, the best fashion schools have made sustainability a core principle, and the designers graduating from the world’s best design programs, like Nale, are looking at their future careers through a different lens than what the general populace is used to expecting from Fashion.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Rather than unifying and pacifying a populace, this kind of media encouraged idiosyncratic, extreme views.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There was little-to-no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side were going to defeat Ralf Rangnick’s under-interim-management rabble that day.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct. 2024
Noun
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More generally, the Nepalese public criticized the government’s measures disproportionate impact on ordinary users.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
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That's significant because the Environmental Protection Agency cited it in its attempts to roll back its prior finding that greenhouse gases posed a danger to the US public.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proletariat. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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