parvenu
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈpɑːrvəˌnu/
- Formal
:
advenedizo
- Despite his wealth, many considered him a parvenu because he lacked the refinement expected in elite social circles.
Examples
-
Moreover, a former aristocrat married to a parvenu and erstwhile terrorist had particular reason to argue that the common humanity invoked by portrait making superseded any factionalism or class difference.
Academic text (2011) -
On the other side, nationalism can be seen as a kind of collective parvenu strategy, in which upstart peoples seek to gain recognition from powerful European societies by mimicking their ideas of what a polity should be and possess.
Academic text (1999) -
What's a parvenu?
-
He's a cheapskate, a skinflint and a... and a parvenu.
-
The old-boy network has given way to an unceasing scramble for position, and the kindly luftmensch has been displaced by the careerist parvenu.
Academic text (2007) -
In short, it is very tempting to see Arendt as the exemplary self-conscious pariah and Berlin as the consummate parvenu.
Academic text (1999) -
After inheriting a fortune, he felt like a parvenu at the high-society gala, unsure of how to fit in with the established elites.
-
The businessman was often seen as a parvenu in his new neighborhood, trying to earn the respect of those who had lived there for generations.
Synonyms
11
7.4
A person who rises quickly to wealth or power and seems rude
1
9.9
A person who recently became rich or important and shows off, not accepted by older social groups
A person who recently became rich and shows wealth in a loud, not elegant way
Antonyms
How Established
38
6.5
169
5.0
- Formal
1
9.9
- Offensive
9
7.2
123
1.6
283
4.1
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word parvenu comes from French parvenir, which means 'to arrive' and is like the English word 'arrive'. So a parvenu is someone who has suddenly 'arrived' into wealth or high society but is not yet accepted by the people already there.