lumpen

American

[luhm-puhn] / ˈlʌm pən /

adjective

of or relating to disfranchised and uprooted individuals or groups, especially those who have lost status.

the lumpen bourgeoisie.

noun

a lumpen individual or group.

lumpen British

/ ˈlʌmpən /

adjective

informal stupid or unthinking

"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

Etymology

Origin of lumpen

First recorded in 1945–50; extracted from lumpenproletariat

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 bar’s co-owner is a leading force behind popular, up-and-coming local brewery Marz Community Brewing, experimental art gallery/cultural centre Co-Prosperity Sphere, and broadcaster Lumpen Radio.

From The Guardian • Apr. 16, 2018

Lumpen, unedited extracts are cut and paste and thrown on to the page in italicised text whether or not they merit being given the space, which they rarely do.

From The Guardian • Mar. 25, 2013

Lumpen “double blind” Mensa-wannabe obsessives — find a new hobby.

From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2010

In turn, "artsies" regard "aggies" as intellectual Lumpen, and nearly everyone sneers at hotel students.

From Time Magazine Archive

I agree with Goethe—nur Lumpen sind bescheiden, only clods are modaist.

From Children of the Ghetto A Study of a Peculiar People by Zangwill, Israel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023