as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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 proletariat
Because the exploited—the proletariat—have nothing to fall back on, nowhere further to sink, their liberation would be the liberation of history from class struggle.
—
James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
The numerically ascending service proletariat is frankly irrelevant in setting the terms of debate in our polity.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2013
The early republican army was one of freeborn citizens, and even after the Marian reforms which opened up the army to the proletariat the Roman legions were draw from the citizenry.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Jan. 2013
See all Example Sentences for proletariat 
James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
The numerically ascending service proletariat is frankly irrelevant in setting the terms of debate in our polity.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2013
The early republican army was one of freeborn citizens, and even after the Marian reforms which opened up the army to the proletariat the Roman legions were draw from the citizenry.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Jan. 2013
See all Example Sentences for proletariat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proletariat
Noun
-
Trump’s White House sent $1,200 checks to the populace in 2020, all of which featured Trump’s signature.Tim Collins, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Dec. 2024
-
Being entombed alive is an apt metaphor for a populace that had its civic freedoms squashed by the Assad dynasty for half a century.Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2024
-
All this anti-Soviet scum, all this rabble revolves around Sakharov.Gal Beckerman, Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2012
Noun
-
By now Francis' annual Christmas address to the priests, bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican Curia has become a lesson in humility — and humiliation — as Francis offers a public dressing down of some of the sins in the workplace at the headquarters of the Catholic Church.CBS News, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2024
-
Other spikes in reports of suspicious bags or items happen in the wake of a major incident, such as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, when authorities were inundated by reports from the newly vigilant public.Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
The clip shows the dog waiting outside a door for its owner to appear, followed by the moment that has people talking.Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
-
Previous reporting suggested most of the infections were in people over the age of 15.Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Articles Related to proletariat
Thesaurus Entries Near proletariat
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proletariat. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share