as in aristocratic
of high birth, rank, or station
upper-class boys who had an entrenched sense of entitlement
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in aristocracy
the highest class in a society
a school founded to educate the children of the upper class
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upper-class
Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Sophie is the first Bridgerton protagonist to exist fully outside the world’s upper-class Regency fantasy.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
On a deeper level, Bridgerton season 4 also explores the idea of a wealthy man from the royal, upper class falling for a woman from the working class, much like Cinderella.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upper-class
Adjective
Daniel Cady, who served a term in Congress, delighted in his daughter’s precociousness, though her particular kind of aggressive intelligence was not encouraged among women of their upper-class milieu.
—Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Sophie is the first Bridgerton protagonist to exist fully outside the world’s upper-class Regency fantasy.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Noun
Thematically, Wuthering Heights is reminiscent of the director’s previous movie, Saltburn, which also saw a rough outsider infiltrating the upper class in Britain.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
On a deeper level, Bridgerton season 4 also explores the idea of a wealthy man from the royal, upper class falling for a woman from the working class, much like Cinderella.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upper-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upper-class
Adjective
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News articles and photos of the casual picnic enamored Americans, transforming their view of the royals as rigid and aristocratic to more down-to-earth.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Set the scene The streets of Forte—as insiders call it—are a maze of tall box hedges and gates that shelter private villas built for wealthy and aristocratic Italian families.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Breyer is married to Joanna Freda Hare, a psychologist and member of the British aristocracy.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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The lower classes and the clergy had always hated the Castilians, and the Portuguese aristocracy and the commercial classes—previously content with the patronage and the economic opportunities that the union with Spain had provided—had become dissatisfied during the preceding 20 years.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In particular, popes wanted to select the church’s bishops rather than allowing nobility or a king to do so.—
Joëlle Rollo-Koster,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
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Lagerbielke — or more accurately, the 11th Baron Lagerbielke — is a member of the Swedish nobility and lies 254th in line to the country’s throne.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Link, whose real name is Dylan, helped to create Alex prior to the mass extinction event that sent the world's upper crust into Paradise.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Mar. 2026
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Two leagues that are deeper but don't have that really thick upper crust would be the Big 10 and the SEC.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The nobles and gentry—the billionaires of Tudor England—made fortunes from the reclaimed monastery lands and created a myth of Henry’s military strength and English pride.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Oct. 2025
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Parker will play Mary Washington, George’s strong willed mother, while Rodgers will play Sally Cary, the charming beauty of the Virginia gentry who first sees his potential.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upper-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upper-class. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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