as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a kind of music that has traditionally appealed to the lumpen segment of the musical audience
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Recent Examples of lumpen
But the earlier dolls were crude, lumpen things, a cross between a beanbag and a sculpted potato.
—
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—New York Times, 20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—Kelly Crow, WSJ, 6 July 2021
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—New York Times, 20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—Kelly Crow, WSJ, 6 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumpen
Adjective
-
The group, originally signed to RCA Records, released two albums of bustling synth pop and opened for Harry Styles in the late twenty-tens but was cast off in the early days of the pandemic owing to low sales.—
Dan Stahl,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
Senators Chris Murphy and Ruben Gallego have spoken publicly about wanting to pursue this, and Bedoya notes that there’s precedent for this action, citing Democrats’ recent introduction of a bill to break up the meatpacking industry to create lower prices for consumers.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
-
These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship.—
Time,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The red contrasted with the dark color of unwashed denim and the tab became an instantly recognizable trademark of Levi’s jeans.—
Jack Armstrong,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
-
What thrilled Peter about the piers was the feeling of someone’s eyes on the back of the head, that unwashed smell.—
Andrew Durbin,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The president can be assured that his low-life actions will eliminate him as a candidate to get to Heaven.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Inside, everything was magically transformed into a 1930s Parisian low-life dive.—
Hamish Bowles,
Vogue,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Stribing was equal parts humble, low key and polite — not at all in keeping with the image of a diva wide receiver.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Purple, pink, and red are more exciting, but a humble green offers an escape from what sometimes seems like excitement that never ends.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
-
One day, Dahlstrom made a vulgar joke in a lunchroom referencing oral sex and pubic hair, according to the employee.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But her flame was dimmed for far too long by one ignoble record: having the longest streak in Daytime Emmys history of nominations without a win.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Here, however, Makowsky examines a purely ignoble figure who feels entitled without accomplishing a thing.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lumpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumpen. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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