petit bourgeois

noun

pe·​tit bourgeois pə-ˈtē- How to pronounce petit bourgeois (audio)
ˌpe-tē-
1
: a member of the petite bourgeoisie
2
petit bourgeois adjective

Examples of petit bourgeois in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Centerless voids of petit bourgeois bros. Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 15 Sep. 2020 In 1956, the Hungarian revolutionary was Time magazine’s Man of the Year, but these days the New York Times runs a series of odes to communism and Teen Vogue will tell its readers about the necessity crushing property rights and controlling the petit bourgeois. David Harsanyi, National Review, 12 Aug. 2020 Sigismund Shlomo Freud was born in the town of Freiberg, now Příbor, Czechia, in 1856, to a petit bourgeois family. Patrick Blanchfield, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2022 In extremis, the chair became the MacGuffin from a sub-Balzac novel of petit bourgeois succession. Lucy Sante, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 Glyn was also—unexpectedly for those of us who thought communists were louche types with disdain for the protocols of petit bourgeois society—a rigid disciplinarian. Gerard Baker, WSJ, 21 June 2021 Consider Brooklyn, the city’s most populous borough, once synonymous with the petit bourgeois aspirations of its denizens but now a global emblem of cool. Daniel Akst, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, small bourgeois

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of petit bourgeois was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near petit bourgeois

Cite this Entry

“Petit bourgeois.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petit%20bourgeois. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!