adj
bourgeois
BAWZH-wah
adj
1
Relating to the middle class, often used to criticise conventional, materialistic, or overly comfortable values.
"She dismissed the whole idea as a bourgeois obsession with property."
noun
1
A member of the middle or property-owning class.
"The novel follows a wealthy bourgeois family in 19th-century Paris."
How to Use Bourgeois
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMiddle-class, often used with a critical edge to suggest someone is overly conventional or materialistic.
When to use it
Frequently used dismissively or politically, especially in Marxist or left-leaning writing.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
more bourgeois comparative, bourgeoised past tense, bourgeois plural, bourgeoises singular, most bourgeois superlative
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She dismissed the whole idea as a _____ obsession with property.
Etymology
From French bourgeois, "town dweller," ultimately from a Germanic word related to "borough."