chattering classes

British

plural noun

informal the educated sections of society, considered as enjoying discussion of political, social, and cultural issues

"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

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.

This proposal generated cavils in the chattering classes that it would drive home prices up to absorb the $25,000 grant, putatively keeping homes out of the reach of the beneficiaries.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2024

The senior staff in Newsnight are depicted as out of touch, patronising and part of the entitled chattering classes, when they're berated by Sam McAlister for "mistaking talking to ourselves for news".

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2024

But his assault seemed to chasten Israel’s media and chattering classes.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2023

Oh, the musical’s wry assault on the seduction of material success and quest for approval of the fickle chattering classes is still apparent.

From Washington Post • Dec. 12, 2022

For at least six years, the mainstream news media and the chattering classes have at best ignored us, or decried our warnings as hyperbolic and ridiculous.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2022

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