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
The first scenario does much more to reduce poverty, demonstrating the importance of permanently expanding access to unemployment insurance to workers with nontraditional jobs—part-timers, freelancers, and other members of the gig economy’s swelling proletariat.
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Matthew Desmond, The New York Review of Books, 28 Dec. 2023
Inspired by Karl Marx, the Bolsheviks dreamed of a world communist revolution and held special expectations for Germany, Marx’s homeland, and for its proletariat.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 19 June 2023
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
Their butler, Adams, is a proletariat.
—Wayne Catan, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proletariat
Noun
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As 39% of the United Kingdom populace struggles to heat their homes, Edelstyn and Powell huddle under blankets themselves, trying vainly to warm up with endless mugs of tea.—
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Each district sends two children as tributes to the fight-to-the-death Hunger Games, concocted by the capitol to keep the populace distracted.—
Noun
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There’s something quite magical, really, about millions of bits of colorful paper flying like snow through the air over a raucous rabble.—
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Yeoh and Erivo shield Grande from the subsequent rabble before the cast resumes their walk down the yellow carpet and Wen is dragged away by security.—
Noun
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Fortunately, the American public is much more informed and less likely to be deceived by the meat and dairy industry than in 1977.—
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In the past, the president has pushed to take Fannie and Freddie public.—
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proletariat. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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