WORKING CLASS Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

working class 1 of 2

noun

Definition of working class

as in middle class

the class of people who earn money by doing usually physical work and who are not rich or powerful

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Dissimilar Words

working-class

2 of 2

adjective

as in middle-class

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of working class

Noun

Four out of every five Latinos are considered working class, because of this, finding a time to get to a healthcare provider’s office is often difficult. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 Talarico aims to crack down on data centers and establish an artificial intelligence dividend so working class people will have a share in the booming industry. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Aug. 2026

Adjective

The decade also saw the decline of American manufacturing devastate many working-class communities, along with the AIDS epidemic, which became the country’s most urgent health crisis. — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 Andrew Bird departed Chicago for California years ago, but the city’s Midwestern disposition and working-class ethic still inform his work. — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for working class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class

Noun

On the brand level, pricing and product-mix strategies become increasingly important as the middle class shifts their value perception.

— Denni Hu, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
That approach has led him to bet on sectors from defense to life sciences, and trends like the growth of India’s middle class.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of middle class

Adjective

Serena and Venus Williams, for example, grew up in a middle-class family in Compton, California, before becoming two of the most successful and recognizable players in tennis history.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
At a time when the nascent feminist movement was largely associated with White, middle-class women, Steinem made race and social class central to her thought and writing.

— Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of middle-class

Noun

The state discovered that reforms had to be beneficial to all, and so the political mission had to be implementing education and acculturation as a means of solidifying the nascent bourgeoisie.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
For a long time, the lifestyles and foibles of the modest bourgeoisie were a mainstay of art-house cinema, with urbane, upscale audiences happy to turn out to see versions of their own lives depicted on the screen.

— Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026

Definition of bourgeoisie

Adjective

Animals could offer liberatory models to throw off bourgeois conventions, returning Surrealists to primal ways of being.

— Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
What the story is actually about almost doesn’t matter — just enjoy the quiet luxury of it all, with the ever-endearing Fabrice Luchini in the lead doing yet another bumbling, bourgeois gentleman of a certain age.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of bourgeois

Adjective

The following season, Chelsea topped their Champions League group, but poor Premier League form saw Mourinho sacked in mid-December.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Many are in poor shape, with thin, uninsulated walls, leaky windows, old or broken swamp coolers and electrical systems that can't always handle air conditioners.

— Alejandra Borunda, NPR, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of poor

Adjective

Customers who want waffles at No Knife will pay anywhere from $15 for a plain one to $45 for a waffle topped with collard greens, candied yams, and mac and cheese.

— Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026
The Democratic candidates won at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where a judges’ panel found that the FCC public notice contradicts the plain language of US law that limits the discount to individual candidates.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of plain

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working (at or on)

working class

working-class

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of working class

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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