parvenu

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.

Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

But Corya is no vulgar, narcissistic bully and parvenu.

From Slate • May 21, 2020

Just as the parvenu tries to elevate himself into a higher social realm, the word climber wishes to seem more intelligent than he actually is.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2017

And so Nokia, Microsoft, BlackBerry and co went back to sleep, confident that their mastery of a mature industry would see the parvenu off.

From The Guardian • Aug. 6, 2017

Compared with that old stronghold, the Guildhall is the merest parvenu, having been built in 1683; but, comparisons of age apart, there is no parallel to be drawn between the two.

From The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries To-Day and in Days of Old by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)