lumpen

[ luhm-puhn ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to disfranchised and uprooted individuals or groups, especially those who have lost status: the lumpen bourgeoisie.

noun
  1. a lumpen individual or group.

Origin of lumpen

1
First recorded in 1945–50; extracted from lumpenproletariat

Words Nearby lumpen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lumpen in a sentence

  • Such are the celebrated barefoot brigade, the eternal vagabonds, the "lumpen-proletariat" of Gorky's early works.

British Dictionary definitions for lumpen

lumpen

/ (ˈlʌmpən) /


adjective
  1. informal stupid or unthinking

Origin of lumpen

1
from German Lump vagabond, influenced in meaning by Lumpen rag, as in lumpenproletariat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012