as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution
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Recent Examples of proletariat
In this way, Du Bois argued in his seminal 1935 work, Black Reconstruction, white elites in the United States had created a double proletariat divided by a racial line.
—
Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
Because the exploited—the proletariat—have nothing to fall back on, nowhere further to sink, their liberation would be the liberation of history from class struggle.
—James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
Because the exploited—the proletariat—have nothing to fall back on, nowhere further to sink, their liberation would be the liberation of history from class struggle.
—James Robins, The New Republic, 19 Jan. 2023
Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proletariat
Noun
-
The populace at large would do so for everyday tasks and as a handy online intellectual partner that is usable anywhere and at any time.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
The monarch of the realm commissions the housing of her collection of artifacts for the inspiration and edification of the populace.—
Gina Grillo,
Chicago Tribune,
21 July 2025
Noun
-
There was little-to-no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side were going to defeat Ralf Rangnick’s under-interim-management rabble that day.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct. 2024
Noun
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With gratitude, Mike & Pam Warner Bros Discovery made its separation news public in June, with that divide coming in mid-2026.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
30 July 2025
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The same ridiculous fiction is being sold to a gullible public that was trotted out after Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Parkland, Buffalo and all the others: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
From 1961 to 1989, at least 140 people were ied in connection with the Wall, either being shot by East German police while trying to escape, from accidents or from suicides.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2025
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Authorities said four people are dead after a shooting at the Owl Bar in the town of Anaconda, Montana, on Friday.—
Jenna Sundel
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proletariat. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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