déclassé

American  

[dey-kla-sey, -klah-, dey-klah-sey] / ˌdeɪ klæˈseɪ, -klɑ-, deɪ klɑˈseɪ /

adjective

1. reduced to or having low or lower status.

   a once-chic restaurant that had become completely déclassé.

2. reduced or belonging to a lower or low social class, position, or rank.

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déclassé British  

/ deklɑse /

adjective

1. Also (feminine): déclassée.  having lost social standing or status

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Etymology

Origin of déclassé

1885–1890; < French, past participle of déclasser. See de-, class

Example Sentences

By elevating quotidian subject matter to a sublime frenzy of saturated hues, he established color photography as an art form during the 1960s and ’70s, when it had been dismissed as déclassé.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

As prevalent as garlic is in American cooking today, for much of the 20th century it was considered an exotic, even déclassé, ingredient.

From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2022

A cut once deemed déclassé is now at the forefront of chicness.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2022

Then again, the reason everyone likes them is because regardless of how loud or déclassé their behavior is, they're deferential and sweet to the family elders.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2021

When life became too hard for the evicted tenant of a sheep-raising landlord, or for the déclassé journeyman of the town gild, he had little choice save to take to the road.

From The Age of the Reformation by Smith, Preserved