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

In the 1930’s during the Great Depression, stadiums across America evolved further, adding floodlights for night games so that working class fans could still attend. — Katie Riley, Southern Living, 20 July 2026 The Oscar nominee stars as Wat Tyler, an ordinary peasant who steps up to lead an extraordinary fight against King Richard II after crushing taxes and political oppression push the country’s working class to a breaking point. — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026

Adjective

Given Pittsburg’s working-class roots, the Fialas knew their wine bar couldn’t be fussy or intimidating. — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026 The movie, which went on to score Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, followed three working-class secretaries. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for working class

Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class

Noun

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
He has been targeted for appearing to concede that the middle class, or those earning under $1 million, will also face higher taxes to finance his progressive healthcare model.

— Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 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

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

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working (at or on)

working class

working-class

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“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of working class

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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