parvenu

American  

[pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo, pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo] / ˈpɑr vəˌnu, -ˌnju, ˌpɑr vəˈnu, -ˈnju /

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.

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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

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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

Explanation

A parvenu is an upstart, somebody who's suddenly rich but doesn't fit into his new social status. If you're a parvenu, people might also describe you as "nouveau-riche" or an "arriviste." Maybe it's not quite so insulting in French. The Beverly Hillbillies, a sitcom from the 1960s, featured the Clampetts, classic parvenus who strike oil in their backwoods swampland. They arrive at their mansion in Beverly Hills, dressed in overalls, in their pick-up truck, with their shabby furniture strapped on top. As parvenus, they don’t fit in — to say the least. Parvenu is from French, and it's the past participle of parvenir, "arrived."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parvenu

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

Just as the parvenu tries to elevate himself into a higher social realm, the word climber wishes to seem more intelligent than he actually is.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2017

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 1925, Gatsby’s pink suit marked him as an attention-seeking parvenu; today, you can buy a $996 replica from Brooks Brothers’ new “Gatsby Collection.”

From Slate ● May 22, 2013

The three heroines belong to an old family, which is devoted to old ways, old furniture, and has an aversion to anything which savors of modernity and the parvenu.

From The Riverside Bulletin, March, 1910 Houghton Mifflin Books for Spring and Summer by Anonymous