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Glite Dictionary
to feel like a pleb

to feel like a pleb

9.9
To feel ordinary and not as good as other people
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : sentirse un don nadie
  • I feel like a pleb at this fancy restaurant.

Examples

  • Watching those luxury cars, she suddenly felt like a pleb walking down the street.

  • Whenever I wear cheap clothes to the party, I feel like a pleb.

  • After hearing them talk about their vacations, he couldn't help but feel like a pleb in comparison.

  • After wearing my old clothes, I felt like a pleb.

  • After hearing them talk about their luxurious lifestyles, I couldn't help but feel like a pleb in my simple shoes.

  • She looked at the expensive jewelry and suddenly felt like a pleb for wearing costume accessories.

  • At the elegant gala, I felt like a pleb among the glamorous attendees in their designer outfits.

Antonyms

elite
258 4.7

A small group of the most powerful or rich people in a society

superior
85 5.5

Not affected by criticism or personal feelings

How Important

respected
8 2.3
important
∞ 1.0
to feel like a pleb
  • Offensive
9.9
unnoticed
57 2.5

Surface Forms

feel like a pleb infinitive
felt like a pleb past
felt like a pleb past participle
feeling like a pleb present participle
feels like a pleb third person singular

Morphology

feel + like + a + pleb

The phrase follows the productive pattern 'feel like a X' meaning 'experience being X', so if a learner knows 'feel', 'like' (in this construction) and the noun 'pleb' (an unrefined/lower-status person) they can derive the meaning. There is some cultural/slang nuance to 'pleb', but the basic sense of feeling common or inferior is directly compositional from the constituents.

Etymology

Feel like a pleb comes from the word pleb, short for the old word 'plebeians', which named ordinary people in ancient Rome. Imagine you are at a fancy party in plain clothes while others show off and you 'feel like a pleb', which is why it means 'feeling ordinary or inferior'.