Dictionary Entry
bourgeoisie
Part of SpeechnounPronunciation/boor-zhwah-zee/Word FrequencyUncommon (3.94)Curriculum FrequencyLess common (1)The social class that owns the means of production and whose societal concerns are perceived as conventional or materialistic.
In a Sentence
“The novel satirized the perceived materialism and conformity of the bourgeoisie in 19th-century Paris.”
Published Usage Examples
“LAMB: I have what you call bourgeoisie values written down, so everybody knows what we're talking about: "thrift, diligence, sobriety, fidelity, procedure and orderliness."”
“Firstly and chiefly, he hates what he calls the bourgeoisie -- he is obliged to use the French word, because his native language does not contain an equivalent term -- and especially capitalists of all sorts and dimensions.”
This entry also appears in ReadingWillow Year 11 word lists, so students can move between the dictionary and year-level study sets.
Origin
French, from 'bourgeoisie' meaning 'middle class', derived from 'bourg' (town).
Common Phrases
Poetry examples for “bourgeoisie”
Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.
Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.
