Parvenu Definition

pärvə-no͝o, -nyo͝o
parvenus
noun
parvenus
A person who has suddenly acquired wealth or power, esp. one who is not fully accepted socially by the class associated with the higher position; upstart.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adjective
Being a parvenu.
Webster's New World
Like or characteristic of a parvenu.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Parvenu

Noun

Singular:
parvenu
Plural:
parvenus

Origin of Parvenu

  • French from past participle of parvenir to arrive from Latin pervenīre per through per1 in Indo-European roots venīre to come gwā- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • See also parvenue f. Parvenu/parvenue is one of the few words in English which has two forms distinguished according to gender.

    From Wiktionary

  • From French parvenu, from French parvenir, from Latin perveniō (“arrive, reach").

    From Wiktionary

Parvenu Sentence Examples

  • Rousseau his father was a rich parvenu, who brought his son at an early age to Paris, where the latter spent most of his life.

  • A parvenu of the middle classes, he was brutal in his treatment of the lower orders and a sycophant in his behaviour towards the powerful; prodigiously active, ill-obeyedas was the custombut much dreaded.

  • On the death of Filippo Maria Visconti, Filelfo, after a short hesitation, transferred his allegiance to Francesco Sforza, the new duke of Milan; and in order to curry favour with this parvenu, he began his ponderous epic, the Sforziad, of which 12,800 lines'were written, but which was never published.

  • Born in a drapers shop, this great administrator always preserved its narrow horizon, its short-sighted imagination, its taste for detail, and the conceit of the parvenu; while with his insinuating ways, and knowing better than Fouquet how to keep his distance, he made himself indispensable by his savoir-faire and his readiness for every emergency.

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Words Starting With

PPAPAR

Words Ending With

UNUENU

Unscrambles

parvenu

Words Starting With P and Ending With U

Starts With P & Ends With UStarts With PA & Ends With UStarts With P & Ends With NU

Word Length

7 Letter Words7 Letter Words Starting With P7 Letter Words Ending With U