bourgeoisie

Meanings

1. 1nounsingular

   The property-owning merchant or middle class in older European society, ranked between nobles and laborers.

   Grammar: Takes a singular verb when naming one class; British English may use a plural verb when stressing the people in it.

   Patterns

   • the bourgeoisie
   • a member of the bourgeoisie
   • the rise of the bourgeoisie
   • between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie

   In the novel, the bourgeoisie attends concerts while servants prepare the house.

   The town grew wealthy as the bourgeoisie invested in banks, ships, and mills.

2. 2nounsingulardisapprovingformal

   In Marxist theory, the capitalist class that owns land, factories, and businesses and employs workers for wages.

   Grammar: Used with "the" in political argument; contrast with "the proletariat," the wage-earning class.

   Patterns

   • the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
   • the interests of the bourgeoisie
   • against the bourgeoisie
   • the ruling bourgeoisie

   The pamphlet argues that the bourgeoisie profits from labor it does not perform.

   For the speaker, freedom belonged to the bourgeoisie and hunger to everyone else.

Common combinations

the rise of the bourgeoisie

Historians linked the rise of the bourgeoisie to trade, credit, and city life.

the French bourgeoisie

The French bourgeoisie demanded legal rights and secure property.

a member of the bourgeoisie

A member of the bourgeoisie might own a shop and still envy the nobility.

the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

The course contrasted the bourgeoisie and the proletariat as two opposing classes.

Synonyms and how they differ

middle class

Neutral everyday term for ordinary professional and business people; it lacks the historical or Marxist class-conflict frame.

capitalists

Emphasizes owners of capital in economic argument; sharper and more political than "bourgeoisie."

property-owning class

Descriptive and neutral, pointing to ownership rather than culture, manners, or ideology.

propertied classes

Plural and historical, often used when several groups with land or wealth are meant.

Opposites

Word family

bourgeois adjective

Middle-class in origin, or conventional and concerned with money, comfort, and respectability.

bourgeois noun

A single member of the bourgeoisie; the plural is "bourgeois."

bourgeoisification noun

The process by which a place, taste, or group becomes middle-class; rare and somewhat technical.

Commonly confused: bourgeoisie or bourgeois? bourgeoisie or proletariat?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bourgeoisie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words