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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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

The third season, Devil In Silver, is based on the book by Victor LaValle, about a working class man mistakenly committed to a psychiatric hospital where things get very, very dark. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026 To read Carver, who was a working class writer but with a literary sophistication underneath, was really electrifying to me. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 14 June 2026

Adjective

Born Gaynor Hopkins in the Welsh town of Skewen, Tyler grew up in a working-class household with her mother and coal-miner father. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 9 July 2026 In the late 1800s and early 1900s, most working-class households owned only a handful of books—often just a Bible. — Levi King, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for working class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class

Noun

As if that will be an effective distraction from the fact that there is no more middle class, healthcare or a secure retirement?

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
From my perspective, the current administration has successfully benefitted the wealthiest Americans and major corporate giants putting corporate interest and political division over the needs of the middle class.

— Dale V.C. Holness, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026

Definition of middle class

Adjective

Many middle-class families earn too much to qualify for government assistance but still struggle to make ends meet.

— Kaysia Earley, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe When Zac Brettler, a middle-class 19-year-old, fell to his death from a Thames-side apartment in 2019, police initially treated his death as suicide, said The Telegraph.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 9 July 2026

Definition of middle-class

Noun

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
The town next door, Maplewood, built walls and created one-way streets to direct the flow of traffic coming in and out of Newark and Irvington to protect its fading notion bourgeoisie exclusivity.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 June 2026

Definition of bourgeoisie

Adjective

In sharp contrast to the first-generation members of the Frankfurt School, Habermas came from a petit-bourgeois, culturally conservative Protestant milieu, his family name going back to sixteenth-century Thuringian cobblers.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Their attempts to destroy the bourgeois family were, like the efforts of Suzanna’s mother and grandmother, ambivalent and half-hearted.

— Julius Taranto, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

Definition of bourgeois

Adjective

Prolonged exposure to heat can lead to insufficient or poor sleep, compromising the immune system, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease and diminishing cognitive performance.

— Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
On top of this, subterranean drip systems often clog with mineral deposits, sediment, and algae, which Nad warns may eventually require repairs or replacement of portions of the system, particularly in areas with hard water or poor filtration.

— Kamron Sanders, The Spruce, 13 July 2026

Definition of poor

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working (at or on)

working class

working-class

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Style

“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of working class

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

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