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arriviste

[ar-ee-veest; French a-ree-veest]
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noun, plural ar·ri·vistes [ar-ee-veests; French a-ree-veest] /ˌær iˈvists; French a riˈvist/.
  1. a person who has recently acquired unaccustomed status, wealth, or success, especially by dubious means and without earning concomitant esteem.
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Origin of arriviste

From French, dating back to 1900–05; see origin at arrive, -ist
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for arriviste

Historical Examples

  • 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

noun
  1. a person who is unscrupulously ambitious
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Word Origin

French: see arrive, -ist
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

Word Origin and History for arriviste

n.

"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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper