Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

parvenu

[pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo, pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo] / ˈpɑr vəˌnu, -ˌnju, ˌpɑr vəˈnu, -ˈnju /
NOUN
newly rich
Synonyms


NOUN
upstart
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 9, 2025

But Corya is no vulgar, narcissistic bully and parvenu.

From Slate May 21, 2020

His mother, “born of samurai stock” and married to “a parvenu beneath herself,” succumbed to mental illness six months after Ryunosuke’s birth.

From New York Times Oct. 12, 2018

In one scene, Trimalchio, a parvenu who serves dishes like a boiled calf wearing a helmet, decides that a mere party isn’t enough and holds a mock funeral for himself.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 30, 2016

A parvenu, who had set up his carriage in great state, went to a harness-maker to have "a silver letter" put on the blinders of his horses.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine No. XVI.?September, 1851?Vol. III. by Various




Vocabulary lists containing parvenu


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training