nouveau riche

American  

[noo-voh reesh, noo-voh reesh] / ˈnu voʊ ˈriʃ, nu voʊ ˈriʃ /

noun

PLURAL

nouveaux riches

1. a person who is newly rich.

   the ostentation of the nouveaux riches of the 1920s.

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nouveau riche British  

/ ˌnuːvəʊ ˈriːʃ, nuvo riʃ /

noun

1. (often plural) a person who has acquired wealth recently and is regarded as vulgarly ostentatious or lacking in social graces

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adjective

1. of or characteristic of the nouveaux riches

nouveau riche Cultural  

1. A pejorative term for one who has recently become rich and who spends money conspicuously. From French, meaning “new rich.”

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Etymology

Origin of nouveau riche

1805–15; < French: new rich (person)

Example Sentences

It might have been be tacky, but the republic can withstand some nouveau riche architecture on federal property.

From The Wall Street Journal

And Safdie is so devoted to duplicating the earthy brown decor of Kerr’s late-’90s nouveau riche Phoenix home that you’d think he was restoring Notre Dame.

From Los Angeles Times

Thirty years later, India's flourishing tech-driven economy of start-ups and creators has birthed a nouveau riche that's afforded Soho House exactly another such market opportunity.

From BBC

Who does Johnson consider nouveau riche?

From Los Angeles Times

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