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

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 befits such a status-obsessed parvenu, Monsieur Jourdain has arrived in style, ushered along by the energetic director Denis Podalydès, a popular polymath in France who also writes and acts on both screen and stage.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2016

In 1925, Gatsby’s pink suit marked him as an attention-seeking parvenu; today, you can buy a $996 replica from Brooks Brothers’ new “Gatsby Collection.”

From Slate • May 22, 2013

Now, the parvenu, the man of his hands, may be a very estimable fellow, but his raw prosperity grates upon the nerves.

From The Brighton Road The Classic Highway to the South by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)