as in arriviste
one who has recently acquired wealth and social position
having made their money in oil decades ago, they consider these billionaire dot-commers mere upstarts
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upstart
By contrast, upstarts like Comulate are eager to position themselves as the AI-native disruptors that can rapidly improve user experience.
—
John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Crawford and Sandoval are both established MLB veterans who missed all of last season due to injuries, while Early, Tolle and Harrison are promising upstarts still looking to establish themselves as big leaguers.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
All of this has left room for upstarts such as Douglas Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a growing network of more than 150 Christian-nationalist congregations.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
YouTube in particular has become the home in many ways for late night, with both the network shows and wholly original digital upstarts battling for their share of the conversation.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Crawford and Sandoval are both established MLB veterans who missed all of last season due to injuries, while Early, Tolle and Harrison are promising upstarts still looking to establish themselves as big leaguers.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
All of this has left room for upstarts such as Douglas Wilson’s Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a growing network of more than 150 Christian-nationalist congregations.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
YouTube in particular has become the home in many ways for late night, with both the network shows and wholly original digital upstarts battling for their share of the conversation.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for upstart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upstart
Noun
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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
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Compared with some of her peers, she was initially seen as an arriviste.—
Caitlin Moscatello,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2023
Noun
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In 1952, backed by little more than his reputation as a war hero and a fortune staked by his parvenu father, 35-year-old John F. Kennedy swiped a Senate seat from Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, himself a wealthy combat veteran.—
Kevin Mahnken,
The New Republic,
1 Sep. 2020
-
Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.—
Saritha Rai,
Fortune,
29 July 2019
Noun
-
Gorging aside, this year’s restaurant week should hold enough attraction for any level of food adventurer.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2026
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When achieving the summit or the darkest depths becomes essential to self-worth, death can become a worthwhile risk for an extreme adventurer.—
Christopher Ferguson,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Trouble begins brewing with the arrival of their nouveau riche neighbors, Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), and his ward, Isabella (Alison Oliver).—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
9 Feb. 2026
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With the farm suddenly unsustainable, there’s nothing for it but to pack up and seek work in Pristina, where Hatixhe’s sister Lina (Fiona Gllavica) lives a comfortable nouveau riche life in a large, gleaming new-build home courtesy of her entrepreneur husband Alban (Alban Ukaj).—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upstart. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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