as in arriviste
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
the kind of trophy house that a parvenu buys to prove to people, and to himself, that he has indeed arrived
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of parvenu
In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.
—
Kevin Mahnken, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2020
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
—Saritha Rai, Fortune, 29 July 2019
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—Lili Anolik, Vanities, 19 June 2017
Kevin Mahnken, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2020
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
—Saritha Rai, Fortune, 29 July 2019
Well, rejecting the pretensions of the peacocking parvenu is one of the sweetest pleasures left to the fallen aristocrat.
—Lili Anolik, Vanities, 19 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parvenu
Noun
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And yet, the digital arrivistes could only gain so much traction with a broader customer base and needed a boost from tie-ins with old-school counterparts.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
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Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Not to be confused with German tiny camper van builder Alpincamper, Switzerland's Alpencamper is a small upstart dedicated to bicycle camping trailers.—
C.C. Weiss
May 01,
New Atlas,
1 May 2026
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The Ducks may still be seen as an upstart in these playoffs, but there was no question who was the better team.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Noun
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Emulation of upper-crust speech norms became popular among the nouveau riche.—
Valerie M. Fridland,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
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Displays of it, particularly in architecture or public art, are often perceived as tacky, kitschy or, heaven forbid, nouveau riche.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For the project, Theron, famous for performing the vast majority of her stunts in action films like Atomic Blonde and The Old Guard, trained with rock climber Beth Rodden to believably portray Sasha, an avid adventurer.—
Nigel Smith,
PEOPLE,
25 Apr. 2026
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Academy Award winners Fraser and Weisz will reprise their roles as adventurer Rick O’Connell and Egyptologist Evelyn O’Connell in the movie, plot details for which are being kept — not unironically — under wraps.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parvenu.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parvenu. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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