as in poor
belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank
She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, as did most of her classmates.
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as in working class
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of middle class
Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
These are representatives of the Iranian people, especially from the urban middle class.
—Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025
Charna Flam, People.com, 11 July 2025
Such companies once formed the backbone of middle-class opportunity, offering a path to economic independence and intergenerational mobility.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle class
Adjective
These benefits provide substantial relief for the middle class, especially since they are structured as deductions, rather than income exclusions, allowing these taxpayers to continue contributing to retirement accounts and Social Security.
—Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
These are representatives of the Iranian people, especially from the urban middle class.
—Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025
Noun
The historian-college professor explores Blume’s middle-class, 1950s childhood in New Jersey, to adulthood when her passion for reading turned into an illustrious writing career.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 11 July 2025
Such companies once formed the backbone of middle-class opportunity, offering a path to economic independence and intergenerational mobility.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle class
Adjective
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This last group is those with still poor (<50) RS Ratings, but strong (>80) 3-month RS Ratings. a.—
Randy Watts,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
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Here are the inspection scores and violations for restaurants within the city limits of Arlington for June 29th - July 5th, 2025 A score of 100 is a perfect score and 70 is considered to be extremely poor.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Following the 2024 election there was much handwringing, pulling of hair, and gnashing of teeth over how the Democratic Party lost the broad working class.—
Nick Gauthier,
Hartford Courant,
7 July 2025
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In 2024, Trump won 55% of Hispanic voters earning $50,000 annually or less, an income cohort commonly defined as working class, defeating then-Vice President Kamala Harris by 11 percentage points , according to CNN exit polling.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Isabella Cosse writes that Quino was attacked both by the left (for being too bourgeois to offer a real critique of the political repression) and by the right (for being too friendly to subversive groups).—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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Domesticity presented an existential challenge to the Communist war on bourgeois weakness and materialism.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Noun
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Its leaders sanctioned the mass appropriation of lands from the nobility and their distribution to smaller farmers and the urban bourgeoisie.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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The promise in the air inspires immigrants, unionists, suffragettes, and a rising Black bourgeoisie.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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Nearby is the kitchen, which is compact and simple as standard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 July 2025
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These patterns are muted, simple, and still full of personality, like this pillow cover in indigo which looks exactly suited to a couch in a captain’s quarters, yacht-appropriate, or like a great porch nap pillow along a white rattan sofa.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill represents a systematic betrayal of the working-class coalition that brought Republicans to power.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
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The results of November’s election showed that the G.O.P. was, indeed, making progress in working-class areas.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Middle class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle%20class. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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