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
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
The countdown to the biggest-ever World Cup is on, with the 48-team tournament in North America a veritable hodgepodge of stellar names and unheralded upstarts.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Readers chose plenty of old standbys, but a few impressive upstarts are also on the hot list.
—Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur face Atletico Madrid while Norwegian upstarts Bodo/Glimt — who have beaten City, Atletico and Inter Milan this season — take on Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
But this is a new world for crypto, one in which digital currencies feel less like rebel upstarts and more like an eccentric uncle.
—James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026
As far as Atlanta rap upstarts go, Sk8star has all the goods, and his new tape Designer Junkie synthesizes them into one of the smoother leaps into the big leagues.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 13 Feb. 2026
There are a number of firms getting in on the action, including big familiar names and plucky upstarts.
—New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2026
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
The countdown to the biggest-ever World Cup is on, with the 48-team tournament in North America a veritable hodgepodge of stellar names and unheralded upstarts.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Readers chose plenty of old standbys, but a few impressive upstarts are also on the hot list.
—Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur face Atletico Madrid while Norwegian upstarts Bodo/Glimt — who have beaten City, Atletico and Inter Milan this season — take on Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon.
—Reuters, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
But this is a new world for crypto, one in which digital currencies feel less like rebel upstarts and more like an eccentric uncle.
—James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026
As far as Atlanta rap upstarts go, Sk8star has all the goods, and his new tape Designer Junkie synthesizes them into one of the smoother leaps into the big leagues.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 13 Feb. 2026
There are a number of firms getting in on the action, including big familiar names and plucky upstarts.
—New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstarts
arrivistes
Noun
-
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 15 Apr. 2026.
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