inherited wealth
2
4.3
- noun
- /ɪnˈhɛrɪtɪd wɛlθ/
:
riqueza heredada
- The government isn't our king, indeed—but as Tom Paine argued, we shouldn't let inherited wealth create new "kings" either.
- inherited wealth from father
- people with inherited wealth
Examples
-
The family was known for its inherited wealth, which allowed them to live in luxury without working.
-
"And in many cases, households get a boost because they inherit wealth from parents and grandparents.
Blog text (2) -
Excessive inherited wealth is incompatible with an open society or even a sustainable, successful market economy.
Blog text (20) -
If a society has high levels of inherited wealth and low levels of economic and social mobility, then caste equals class.
Blog text (16) -
I inherited wealth and spent it willfully and at times extravagantly.
Fiction book (1992) -
He has a dignified presence and the complacent authority of inherited wealth.
Academic text (1997) -
More recently, he studied Texas dynastic families, observing how they have perpetuated themselves during a century increasingly hostile to inherited wealth.
Academic text (1993) -
AFI women wished to maintain their traditional statuses within their lineages and contract legal marriages without risk to their personal and inherited wealth.
Academic text (1994) -
Many people believe that inherited wealth provides an easy path to success without hard work.
-
After receiving inherited wealth from their grandparents, they decided to invest in a business together.
Synonyms
358
4.2
Things from the past that people keep and remember, for example money or achievements
327
3.9
All the money, property, and debts a person owns when they die
24
3.7
A quality, belief, or tradition that older family members pass down
16
3.7
Property or money you receive from a family member after they die
3
8.2
Property passed down in a family or left to a church
1
5.5
Wealth passed down in rich families for many generations
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'inherited' (received by inheritance) modifies 'wealth', so the phrase denotes wealth received from relatives or ancestors. This past-participle + noun pattern is a standard, cross-linguistic construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Inherited wealth comes from the simple picture of a family's money or goods being inherited, passed down to children when a parent dies. So, inherited wealth means money or property people get 'from relatives' and 'not earned' by work.