gentrification

American  

[jen-truh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌdʒɛn trə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, raising property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.

2. the process of conforming to an upper- or middle-class lifestyle, or of making a product, activity, etc., appealing to those with more affluent tastes.

   the gentrification of fashion.

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gentrification British  

/ ˌdʒɛntrɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a process by which middle-class people take up residence in a traditionally working-class area of a city, changing the character of the area

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Other Word Forms

• gentrifier noun

Etymology

Origin of gentrification

gentr(y) ( def. ) + -i- ( def. ) + -fication; coined by sociologist Ruth Glass (1912–90), German-born British sociologist in 1964

Explanation

When people with money start fixing up poor neighborhoods, that’s gentrification. Sounds great, except it usually means the poor residents can’t afford to live there anymore and have to move. In the United Kingdom, the gentry are the highest class of people aside from royalty. When you add -fication (the suffix that means “making”), you see how gentrification means "making something suitable for a higher class of people," usually the middle class (the upper class already have their mansions). When a neighborhood goes through gentrification, buildings get makeovers, new businesses open, and many people who’ve lived there their entire lives must leave because everything gets more expensive.

Example Sentences

This seemed like a classic tale of gentrification: out with the manufacturing, in with the charming culture-hub business.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

In Bali, Colombia and Thailand, the strains of housing American remote workers paid in dollars have inspired locals to mount protests against a wave of gentrification.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

"This is not the slow, decades-long gentrification often seen in Western cities. It's a rapid, almost violent reshaping that is already forcing millions of residents to the margins," he writes.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

Nubi proposes "gentrification" that upgrades slums like Makoko without displacing residents.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

It was an article from a local paper in northern Florida, talking about a word I had never heard before: gentrification.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya