elites

NOUN

high-class persons

Synonyms

STRONGEST

aristocracy celebrity establishment society

STRONG

best choice cream crowd elect fat flower gentility gentry nobility pride prime prize quality top

WEAK

beautiful people blue blood carriage trade country club set crème de la crème fast lane glitterati high society in-crowd jet-set main line old money optimacy select upper class upper crust

Antonyms

STRONGEST

proletariat

STRONG

worst

WEAK

commonality low-life lower class ordinary

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The pattern is familiar: Elites hesitate to name antisemitism clearly for fear of inflaming tensions, only to discover that ambiguity emboldens extremists rather than restraining them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

Elites in Caracas contended that the cédula real would make it even more difficult to maintain this control and could very well lead to more insurrections.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Elites as well as middle-class families now discuss privately and sometimes even publicly whether their leader has lost his way.

From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2022

Elites are often socialized into affecting “ease” and eschewing displays of effort.

From New York Times • Jan. 9, 2022

Elites have relatively large apartments and access to rice.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden