as in arrivistes
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
having made their money in oil decades ago, they consider these billionaire dot-commers mere upstarts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of upstarts
More traditional news outlets are growing comfortable with less formal presentations and personalities, part of a gradual coming together of stories news brands and new, digital upstarts who are winning significant slices of attention through newsletters, podcasts and subscription media products.
—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
24 June 2026
Time and time again in the history of technology, monopolistic industry leaders that long seemed invincible—from Xerox to IBM to AT&T—have proven vulnerable to agile upstarts and technology advances that broke markets wide open by lowering costs, expanding supply and leapfrogging capabilities.
—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
At 14 years old, Candy Crush is a grizzled veteran, a heritage brand up against a thousand young upstarts.
—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
The largest field in tournament history gives its viewership a constant stream of group-stage action, ranging from global titans to spirited upstarts.
—
Christopher Hamill,
New York Times,
15 June 2026
But other brands caught on to GoPro's game, and upstarts like the DJI Osmo Action 6 and the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 come with larger sensors and lower prices than the Hero13 Black.
—
Jim Fisher,
PC Magazine,
11 June 2026
But over the last decade, these consumer giants have faced a new threat from upstarts.
—
Amelia Lucas,melissa Repko,
CNBC,
7 June 2026
Still, Wall Street remains unconvinced this will be enough to prevent a loss of market share to AI-native products and upstarts.
—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
The team went 7-0-1 down the stretch — including a 3-2 overtime win over Colorado on April 11 — and beat playoff upstarts Utah and Anaheim to advance.
—
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
24 June 2026
Time and time again in the history of technology, monopolistic industry leaders that long seemed invincible—from Xerox to IBM to AT&T—have proven vulnerable to agile upstarts and technology advances that broke markets wide open by lowering costs, expanding supply and leapfrogging capabilities.
—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
At 14 years old, Candy Crush is a grizzled veteran, a heritage brand up against a thousand young upstarts.
—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
The largest field in tournament history gives its viewership a constant stream of group-stage action, ranging from global titans to spirited upstarts.
—
Christopher Hamill,
New York Times,
15 June 2026
But other brands caught on to GoPro's game, and upstarts like the DJI Osmo Action 6 and the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 come with larger sensors and lower prices than the Hero13 Black.
—
Jim Fisher,
PC Magazine,
11 June 2026
But over the last decade, these consumer giants have faced a new threat from upstarts.
—
Amelia Lucas,melissa Repko,
CNBC,
7 June 2026
Still, Wall Street remains unconvinced this will be enough to prevent a loss of market share to AI-native products and upstarts.
—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
The team went 7-0-1 down the stretch — including a 3-2 overtime win over Colorado on April 11 — and beat playoff upstarts Utah and Anaheim to advance.
—
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstarts
arrivistes
Noun
-
And yet, the digital arrivistes could only gain so much traction with a broader customer base and needed a boost from tie-ins with old-school counterparts.
-
Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.
Cite this Entry
“Upstarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstarts. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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