as in aristocratic
of high birth, rank, or station
upper-class boys who had an entrenched sense of entitlement
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in aristocracy
the highest class in a society
a school founded to educate the children of the upper class
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upper-class
Vicky Smith, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Other notes reference the Gordon Riots — an uprising in 1780 spurred by anti-Catholic sentiment — and the Mohocks, a violent gang of upper-class young men who got drunk and attacked people.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
This music, rooted in the experiences of fishermen and people who recite lyrics on the banks of the Magdalena River, was not initially accepted by the middle and upper classes of that time.
—Karla Gachet, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upper-class
Adjective
With its big scandals and even bigger wigs, the series whisks viewers through upper-class London at a time of huge social change.
—Vicky Smith, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Other notes reference the Gordon Riots — an uprising in 1780 spurred by anti-Catholic sentiment — and the Mohocks, a violent gang of upper-class young men who got drunk and attacked people.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
Unlike in England, there was no upper class and lower class.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
This music, rooted in the experiences of fishermen and people who recite lyrics on the banks of the Magdalena River, was not initially accepted by the middle and upper classes of that time.
—Karla Gachet, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upper-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upper-class
Adjective
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Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, meanwhile, is located in the former hunting lodge of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, and its Munich branch sits at the former Bavarian State Bank headquarters and the adjacent Palais Neuhaus-Preysing, originally an aristocratic residence from the 1700s.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
4 Nov. 2025
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Federalist critics in Congress argued the colonnades looked aristocratic.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Some moved to England in order to receive an education or marry into the aristocracy; others journeyed to India, Macau, or Rome.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
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All Creatures Great and Small What Downton Abbey did for British aristocracy, All Creatures Great and Small does for English veterinary practices.—
Tiffany Kelly,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Its medical professionals aren’t just competent but morally perfect, their personal failings serving mainly to make their essential nobility more tangible.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2026
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Intelligence is a little like the concept of nobility, said Alison Gopnik, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has pioneered techniques for studying the cognitive abilities of babies and children.—
F.D. Flam,
Twin Cities,
22 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Her dalliance with England's upper crust didn't stop there, either — the baker went on to provide the cake for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday in 2016.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Sep. 2025
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Even with the other guys' admonitions not to, under any circumstances, be themselves, Dee and Charlie's improbable success in charming these scions of the Philly upper crust had the guys — and us — both baffled and anxiously awaiting an ugly twist.—
Dennis Perkins,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
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The nobles and gentry—the billionaires of Tudor England—made fortunes from the reclaimed monastery lands and created a myth of Henry’s military strength and English pride.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Oct. 2025
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Parker will play Mary Washington, George’s strong willed mother, while Rodgers will play Sally Cary, the charming beauty of the Virginia gentry who first sees his potential.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upper-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upper-class. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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