arriviste

noun

ˌa-ri-ˈvēst How to pronounce arriviste (audio)
Definition of arrivistenext
as in parvenu
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position the town's old money immediately shunned these vulgar arrivistes, who may have had the cash but certainly not the class

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of arriviste But every now and then even captains of industry get taken by surprise, and lately they’ve been kept on their toes by a barrage of novel financial vehicles and the arriviste investors driving up their value. — Emily Stewart, Town & Country, 3 June 2021 The underdog pick is Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), an ingenuous arriviste who, long-limbed and blunder-prone, provides much of the show’s comic relief. — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021 Her circle includes an aunt who is a champion wrestler, a resident Goth named Isabel and sultry Penny Century, an arriviste married to a wealthy magnate with horns on his head. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2023 Certainly there’s a long and distinguished tradition of associating Jewish arrivistes with entrepreneurialism, avarice, and clannishness. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arriviste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arriviste
  1. parvenu
  2. upstart
  3. adventurer
Noun
  • Spurrier, who predominantly sold French vintages, wasn’t expecting anything other than a trouncing for the parvenu.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 May 2026
  • Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
    — Saritha Rai, Fortune, 29 July 2019
Definition of parvenu
Noun
  • European and Asian markets mostly tumbled on war and rate jitters, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped, powered by a soaring Chinese AI upstart whose shares have surged more than 1,300%.
    — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • In December 2024, Honda and Nissan announced a roughly $60 billion merger meant to merge into the world's third-largest carmaker and take on Tesla and the Chinese EV upstarts.
    — Mushfig Aliyev, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of upstart
Noun
  • Whether a whiskey connoisseur, aviation aficionado, outdoor adventurer, or eclectic foodie, the small town of Tullahoma, Tennessee, has much to offer you.
    — Korrin Bishop, Southern Living, 1 July 2026
  • Just like a certain adventurer with some mean, mean pride, Rush are currently embarking on their fiftieth anniversary tour, a prog-rock pilgrimage that will take them around the world and back for the next year.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 17 June 2026
Definition of adventurer

Browse Nearby Words

arriving
arriviste
arrivistes
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Arriviste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arriviste. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on arriviste

Nglish: Translation of arriviste for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All