arriviste
[ ar-ee-veest; French a-ree-veest ]
/ ˌær iˈvist; French a riˈvist /
noun, plural ar·ri·vistes [ar-ee-veests; French a-ree-veest] /ˌær iˈvists; French a riˈvist/.
a person who has recently acquired unaccustomed status, wealth, or success, especially by dubious means and without earning concomitant esteem.
Nearby words
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for arriviste
In it there is as much enthusiasm as serious purpose, as much of the essence of youth as of the arriviste.
Modern Painting, Its Tendency and Meaning|Willard Huntington Wright
British Dictionary definitions for arriviste
arriviste
/ (ˌæriːˈviːst, French arivist) /
noun
a person who is unscrupulously ambitious
Word Origin for arriviste
French: see arrive, -ist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for arriviste
arriviste
"pushy, ambitious person," 1901, from French arriviste, from arriver "to arrive" (see arrive). The notion is of a person intent on "arriving" at success or in society.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper