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
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Recent Examples of upstarts
This October marks the festival’s inaugural run in Miami Beach, but the event is already poised to become a must-attend affair for everyone from independent creatives to brand executives, corporate gurus and scrappy upstarts.
—
Caitlin White, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
Sets from upstarts like Creepy Nuts, Pawsa, Geese and Slayyyter, along with emphatic crowds at rock heavyweights like Jack White, Turnstile and even Sombr, traded seamlessness and precision for immediacy and friction — louder, looser, more physical in ways that were best felt than watched.
—Andrea Domanick, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
In their place are upstarts such as the Philadelphia Flyers, who last qualified in 2020.
—John Wawrow, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
That's when the upstarts take over, and the once-revolutionary companies face the risk of becoming relics.
—Chris Anderson, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Digital upstarts like Substack, Puck, Semafor and Status are planning events ahead of the dinner.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2026
Nike also faces intensifying competition from upstarts like Hoka and resurgent rivals such as Adidas in the footwear category.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2026
Bread Financial works with upstarts like legal AI firm Harvey and AI content platform Jasper.
—John Kell, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
Tech companies and artificial intelligence upstarts have unleashed a South Bay leasing surge that has produced the region’s best quarter for office space rental activity since the end of the coronavirus outbreak, a new report has disclosed.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026
Caitlin White, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
Sets from upstarts like Creepy Nuts, Pawsa, Geese and Slayyyter, along with emphatic crowds at rock heavyweights like Jack White, Turnstile and even Sombr, traded seamlessness and precision for immediacy and friction — louder, looser, more physical in ways that were best felt than watched.
—Andrea Domanick, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
In their place are upstarts such as the Philadelphia Flyers, who last qualified in 2020.
—John Wawrow, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
That's when the upstarts take over, and the once-revolutionary companies face the risk of becoming relics.
—Chris Anderson, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Digital upstarts like Substack, Puck, Semafor and Status are planning events ahead of the dinner.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2026
Nike also faces intensifying competition from upstarts like Hoka and resurgent rivals such as Adidas in the footwear category.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2026
Bread Financial works with upstarts like legal AI firm Harvey and AI content platform Jasper.
—John Kell, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
Tech companies and artificial intelligence upstarts have unleashed a South Bay leasing surge that has produced the region’s best quarter for office space rental activity since the end of the coronavirus outbreak, a new report has disclosed.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 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.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upstarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstarts. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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