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
In this way, Du Bois argued in his seminal 1935 work, Black Reconstruction, white elites in the United States had created a double proletariat divided by a racial line.
—
Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
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
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
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
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proletariat
Noun
-
This offers the populace some measure of accountability and contributes to the expectation that officers will perform their legal duties in keeping with their own departmental policies and within the boundaries of the law.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
8 June 2025
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Imagine arriving in Florence ready to guide and instruct the populace and instead being tussled over like a toy between two toddlers!—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
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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While Mojtaba is ideologically aligned with his father, Khomeini is viewed as a more moderate figure who could appeal to a discontented public and ease international tensions.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
-
The information available to the voting public focuses typically on the findings of a routine physical exam, resting electrocardiogram and standard laboratory tests.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
The men’s team has already qualified for the World Cup in 2026, meaning a third appearance at a men’s World Cup for a nation of just over five million people.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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These new episodes, though, bear fruit, in the form of progress, and forward momentum, and the impossible optimism of people changing for the better.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proletariat. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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