as in apartments
a room or set of rooms in a private house or a block used as a separate dwelling place
an exhibit of pictures showing the tenements of the New York City neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen during the 1920s
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Recent Examples of tenements
The novel begins with a deadly fire that destroys two tenements.
—
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
German Jews—my people—were far less numerous, most of them came to the United States earlier, and their typical first occupation was peddling, which entailed wandering through non-Jewish areas, not living in tenements.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
The tenements featured in Marty Supreme of course replicated those from the 1950s.
—India Roby, Architectural Digest, 27 Feb. 2026
More than half a million residents live in NYCHA development plagued by chronic mold, broken elevators, and heating failures; others reside in subpar tenements run by crooked landlords.
—Darius Jones, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s a row of five-story buildings off Fifth Avenue in Park Slope that seem to fit the neighborhood standard for prewar, working-class tenements — a central staircase divvying up ten dark railroad apartments.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Jan. 2026
The grotty tenements of the Lower East Side — and the distinct fashion within — is as much of a character in A24’s drama as the eponymous ping pong player himself.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 27 Dec. 2025
The streets, tenements, fire-escapes, the elders, and the urgent concerns of childhood—or, rather, the helpless intensity of anguish with which one watches one’s childhood disappear—are rendered very vividly indeed by Louise Meriwether, in her first novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
Also, bamboo scaffolding is ubiquitous in the city, used not only in the construction of new buildings, but also in the renovation of thousands of historic tenements every year.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
German Jews—my people—were far less numerous, most of them came to the United States earlier, and their typical first occupation was peddling, which entailed wandering through non-Jewish areas, not living in tenements.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
The tenements featured in Marty Supreme of course replicated those from the 1950s.
—India Roby, Architectural Digest, 27 Feb. 2026
More than half a million residents live in NYCHA development plagued by chronic mold, broken elevators, and heating failures; others reside in subpar tenements run by crooked landlords.
—Darius Jones, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s a row of five-story buildings off Fifth Avenue in Park Slope that seem to fit the neighborhood standard for prewar, working-class tenements — a central staircase divvying up ten dark railroad apartments.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Jan. 2026
The grotty tenements of the Lower East Side — and the distinct fashion within — is as much of a character in A24’s drama as the eponymous ping pong player himself.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 27 Dec. 2025
The streets, tenements, fire-escapes, the elders, and the urgent concerns of childhood—or, rather, the helpless intensity of anguish with which one watches one’s childhood disappear—are rendered very vividly indeed by Louise Meriwether, in her first novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner.
—Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025
Also, bamboo scaffolding is ubiquitous in the city, used not only in the construction of new buildings, but also in the renovation of thousands of historic tenements every year.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tenements
Noun
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The personal finance company compared the average monthly rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments between March 2025 and the following March with data from rental marketplace Zumper.—
Julia Hawkins,
Idaho Statesman,
20 Apr. 2026
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The family lived in rental apartments and motels, with Dabito sharing a single bedroom with his parents and sister.—
Ingrid Abramovitch,
Architectural Digest,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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With units ranging from loft-style studios to expansive four-bedroom residences and penthouses, One Wall Street is attracting a wide mix of buyers including young professionals who work in the neighborhood.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
19 Apr. 2026
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The units start at $15 million, but the average falls between $35 and $40 million, with penthouses that could exceed $150 million, Rossely said.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tenements.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tenements. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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