as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a kind of music that has traditionally appealed to the lumpen segment of the musical audience
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Recent Examples of lumpen
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.
—
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—New York Times, 20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2021
Indeed, the miniatures — lumpen clay armchairs and occasional tables that Valle arranges and rearranges inside shoebox versions of their ultimate destinations — are closer to dollhouse furniture than to showpiece renderings.
—New York Times, 9 Sep. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—Kelly Crow, WSJ, 6 July 2021
Other labels are riffing on the shoe’s lumpen shape, and playing with proportion and puff.
—Lauren Mechling, Vogue, 30 Mar. 2021
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2024
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.
—New York Times, 20 June 2022
Then the judges booted her for wearing a lumpen quilt skirt accessorized with a blow-up-doll boyfriend.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Apr. 2022
Tye Sheridan gives a somewhat lumpen performance as the author’s stand-in, an aspiring writer whose family background is funky, to say the least.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2022
The films of Sean Baker celebrate lumpen characters and communities that subsist within the cracks of America’s neoliberal landscape.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2021
Indeed, the miniatures — lumpen clay armchairs and occasional tables that Valle arranges and rearranges inside shoebox versions of their ultimate destinations — are closer to dollhouse furniture than to showpiece renderings.
—New York Times, 9 Sep. 2021
Some collectors are leaning further into technology by amassing digital artworks, while other sets of buyers are coping by prizing ceramics, with their fragile, lumpen tactility.
—Kelly Crow, WSJ, 6 July 2021
Other labels are riffing on the shoe’s lumpen shape, and playing with proportion and puff.
—Lauren Mechling, Vogue, 30 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumpen
Adjective
-
Keep clear of puddles - Driving through puddles or low rainwater areas can cause vehicles to hydroplane or skid out of control Give ample space to large vehicles - Trucks or buses can create a water spray that diminishes visibility.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 July 2025
-
Trim the lower branches of your hydrangea to allow air to circulate at ground level.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 July 2025
Adjective
-
Following the exit of John Galliano, Glenn Martens made his debut as creative director of Maison Margiela with an Artisanal collection honoring the house’s legacy of provocative, avant-garde fashions while also sticking an unwashed thumb in the eye of the numbing quiet luxury juggernaut.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
11 July 2025
-
Mildew and mold are invisible causes of very real symptoms—and unwashed linens can be public enemy number one.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Across the lake, on the plebeian side, up the shoreline a mile or so, in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, stand twin 32-story towers dubbed Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Your support has helped grow the team from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse that laid claim to 6 Constructors Championships and 8 Drivers Championships.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
-
Other successes like Mark Cuban and Keke Palmer, who similarly came from humble beginnings, echo his frugal habits and anxieties.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
Nan’s rebellion was never loud or vulgar but always quietly confident and effortlessly elegant.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
-
The comics were often dismissed as a vulgar form, but the bad joke of our superhero-movie culture is that most of it is a vulgarization of the comics.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
My focus is down to the ignoble little health annoyances that seem to cap and even eclipse a major setback.—
John Updike,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
-
O’Neal credits the playgrounds of his childhood with giving him instincts on the court and helping instill the resilience to endure what felt like an ignoble start to his career.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Red Sox currently lead MLB in errors with 69, narrowly overtaking the lowly Colorado Rockies this week.—
Joey Copponi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 June 2025
-
His rookie year ended with a rather disappointing negative-yardage effort in a lost to the lowly New York Jets.—
C. Isaiah Smalls II,
Miami Herald,
22 June 2025
Adjective
-
Instead of allowing senior citizens and disabled first-responders choose the plan that was right for them — and the vast majority have chosen traditional Medicare — de Blasio forced every one of them into an inferior Medicare Advantage plan run by a for-profit insurance company.—
Marianne Pizzitola,
New York Daily News,
14 July 2025
-
The bolder value vision is in using new AI capabilities to solve long-standing inefficiencies or problems that may have been targeted before, albeit with inferior technology.—
Beena Ammanath,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lumpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumpen. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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