nouveau

American  

[noo-voh, noo-voh] / ˈnu voʊ, nuˈvoʊ /

adjective

1. newly or recently created, developed, or come to prominence.

   The sudden success of the firm created several nouveau millionaires.

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nouveau British  

/ ˈnuːvəʊ /

adjective

1. facetious (prenominal) having recently become the thing specified

   a nouveau hippy

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Etymology

Origin of nouveau

1805–15; < French: new; Old French novel < Latin novellus; novel ²

Example Sentences

Displays of it, particularly in architecture or public art, are often perceived as tacky, kitschy or, heaven forbid, nouveau riche.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

But its “Romanesque churches, Renaissance synagogues, art nouveau apartments, and functionalist office buildings remind us that history shapes the present.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Unfortunately, Tony Dokoupil, the newly installed anchor of CBS Evening News and the face of the company’s nouveau regime-friendly rebrand, was not so lucky.

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026

In February 2022, Ms. Peterson, an author and art collector, was surrounded by a new clientele: the crypto nouveau riche, who made a temporary home of the art market.

From New York Times • May 18, 2024

My lapse in standing was the misfortune of being from the nouveau pauvre side of what passed for an elegant family there in the Pittsburgh of the South.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times