parvenu

American  

[pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo, pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo] / ˈpɑr vəˌnu, -ˌnyu, ˌpɑr vəˈnu, -ˈnyu /

noun

1. a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.

---

adjective

1. being or resembling a parvenu.

2. characteristic of a parvenu.

parvenu British  

/ ˈpɑːvəˌnjuː /

noun

1. a person, esp a man, who, having risen socially or economically, is considered to be an upstart or to lack the appropriate refinement for his or her new position

---

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a parvenu

Other Word Forms

• parvenudom noun
• parvenuism noun

Etymology

Origin of parvenu

1795–1805; < French: upstart, noun use of past participle of parvenir to arrive, reach < Latin pervenīre, equivalent to per- per- + venīre to come

Example Sentences

Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

But Corya is no vulgar, narcissistic bully and parvenu.

From Slate • May 21, 2020

When Mr. Trump bought Mar-a-Lago at a fire-sale price in 1985, he was viewed by many in this uppity enclave as a parvenu who would cheapen the legacy of the estate.

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2017

In one scene, Trimalchio, a parvenu who serves dishes like a boiled calf wearing a helmet, decides that a mere party isn’t enough and holds a mock funeral for himself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2016

Alone of the parvenu monarchs of the Napoleonic age Bernadotte retained the crown of Sweden, to which, by the treaty of Kiel, that of Norway had been added.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various