déclassé
Americanadjective
-
reduced to or having low or lower status.
a once-chic restaurant that had become completely déclassé.
-
reduced or belonging to a lower or low social class, position, or rank.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of déclassé
1885–1890; < French, past participle of déclasser. See de-, class
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.
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
How a cut once deemed déclassé is now at the forefront of chicness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
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
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
Mr. Schleusner, who was small and vulgar and déclassé and really knew something about business.
From The Job An American Novel by Lewis, Sinclair
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
