having, reflecting, or relating to conventional tastes, opinions, and values believed to be determined mainly by a concern for respectability and material wealth; middle-class.
He lived a bohemian lifestyle frowned upon by bourgeois morality.
Bored with bourgeois suburbia and starved for authenticity, these progressive millennials are eager to participate in something challenging and important.
belonging to, characteristic of, or consisting of the middle class, especially as viewed in Marxist theory; concerned with ownership of property and maintenance of the status quo, and having or catering to interests opposed to those of the lower or working class.
Soviet propaganda treated Democrats and Republicans as interchangeable parts of a bourgeois power structure.
a person with conventional or banal tastes and opinions believed to be determined mainly by a concern for respectability and material wealth.
In this movie he portrays a stuffy bourgeois who plays golf and reads all the right business magazines.
a member of the middle class, especially as viewed in Marxist theory.
a shopkeeper or merchant.
Léon Victor Auguste 1851–1925, French statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1920.
Louise, 1911–2010, U.S. sculptor, born in France.
a member of the middle class, esp one regarded as being conservative and materialistic or (in Marxist thought) a capitalist exploiting the working class
a mediocre, unimaginative, or materialistic person
characteristic of, relating to, or comprising the middle class
conservative or materialistic in outlook
a bourgeois mentality
(in Marxist thought) dominated by capitalists or capitalist interests
First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French; Old French borgeis burgess
First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps from a printer so named
The adjective bourgeois means relating to or typical of the middle class. If someone says, "Oh, how bourgeois!" it's probably an insult, meaning you're preoccupied with middle-class small-mindedness. As a noun, a bourgeois is a member of the middle class, originally a member of the middle class in France. The word was borrowed from French, from Old French burgeis "citizen of a town," from borc "town, village," from Latin burgus "fortress, castle." The derived word bourgeoisie "the middle class" is a later borrowing from French.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The scenic decor and costumes situate us in the late 19th century of Ibsen’s bourgeois Norway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
The political centerpiece of 1968 was, at least if you’re French, the événements of May, in which bourgeois students took to the streets of Paris to re-enact the revolutionary theater of 1789.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
“Jesus Christ Superstar” reminds us that Lloyd Webber wasn’t always a symbol of the bourgeois establishment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025
"They let you know if they're getting bored. It's not bourgeois polite and that appeals to me."
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2025
It’s as if I’m mingling with the bourgeois businesspeople and entertainers from Petionville.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
The art moves from medieval manuscripts to Louise Bourgeois, Diane Arbus and Anselm Kiefer, among many others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Le Bourgeois declined to say how much revenue live selling has generated but said the number of people shopping on TikTok Shop every month has nearly tripled since its launch 15 months ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
“I care about Maricopa County,” Bourgeois said at one point, referring to Arizona’s largest county, which Biden won four years ago.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024
“I’m hopeful Lara Trump can bring this back,” Bourgeois said before the speech.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
During these negotiations Ferré and Bourgeois remained motionless, silent.
From History of the Commune of 1871 by Lissagary, P.
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.
