parvenu

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.

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

And so Nokia, Microsoft, BlackBerry and co went back to sleep, confident that their mastery of a mature industry would see the parvenu off.

From The Guardian • Aug. 6, 2017

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

As Oswald had foreseen, his relatives overwhelmed Georges with reproaches for the part he had borne in a duel between his cousin and a parvenu.

From 'Gloria Victis!' A Romance by Schubin, Ossip