MIDDLE-CLASS Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

middle-class 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of middle-class

as in poor

belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, as did most of her classmates.

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Dissimilar Words

middle class

2 of 2

noun

as in working 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 middle-class

Adjective

The show was considered an outlier in its generally sympathetic take on Hill and his conservative views, as well as in terms of the agency with which the show’s creators endowed its working- and middle-class characters. — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026 Walmart's disappointing sales and Home Depot's strength among budget-conscious do-it-yourselfers indicate middle-class American consumers are growing more tight-fisted, even as wealthier shoppers have kept supporting luxury brands like Ralph Lauren. — Juveria Tabassum, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

Noun

Those reforms led to huge reduction in poverty, an exploding middle class and a scramble by foreign companies to access the lucrative Chinese market. — Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026 Bay Harbor Islands has been the site of significant redevelopment in recent years, as developers snap up the traditionally middle class town’s precious waterfront real estate to build high-end homes and condos. — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for middle-class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class

Adjective

Dozens of companies have withdrawn over the past decades due to poor profits, an uncertain business outlook and concerns about harm to their reputations from making arms, especially lethal weapons.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Along the way, the audience can expect tons of humiliation, terrible second prizes, and the guarantee that Robertson will turn at least one poor soul's wrong turn into several minutes of unhinged public destruction.

— Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of poor

Noun

And that’s just not a pairing that really attracts working class people.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
And right now the -- a lot of the worst politicians right now are sitting up on high in Oval Office rooms, detached from the feelings of working class people.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of working class

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

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

Waist circumference is one simple way to estimate visceral fat.

— Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
From a straightforward season-long points race to giving the points leader a cushion on the leaderboard, and now the simple format of awarding the FedEx Cup to the winner of the Tour Championship, the postseason has long needed a boost.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of simple

Adjective

In the centuries that followed, the Mission went from Mexican farmland to immigrant stronghold as waves of working-class European families moved into the neighborhood following the Gold Rush in the mid-1800s.

— Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Since her start in the music industry in the 1960s, Parton used her working-class roots and rhinestone personality to redefine what success in the country music world could look like.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of working-class

Browse Nearby Words

middle-agers

middle-class

middle class

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Style

“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of middle-class

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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