The proletariat is a term used to refer to workers without high status, especially industrial workers.
...a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Synonyms: working class, the masses, lower classes, commoners More Synonyms of proletariat
proletariat in British English
or proletariate (ˌprəʊlɪˈtɛərɪət)
noun
1.
all wage-earners collectively
2.
the lower or working class
3.
(in Marxist theory) the class of wage-earners, esp industrial workers, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labour
4.
(in ancient Rome) the lowest class of citizens, who had no property
Word origin
C19: via French from Latin prōlētāriusproletarian
proletariat in American English
(ˌproʊləˈtɛriət)
noun
1.
the class of lowest status in ancient Roman society
2. Rare
the class of lowest status in any society
3.
the working class; esp., the industrial working class
Word origin
Fr prolétariat < L proletarius: see proletary
Examples of 'proletariat' in a sentence
proletariat
They occupy a contradictory class location between the petty bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
The main axis of stratification in capitalist societies is the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
Managers and supervisors occupy a contradictory class location between the bourgeoisie andthe proletariat.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
By implication, class conflict is primarily a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Harrison, David The Sociology of Modernization and Development (1988)
They have had to seek work as labourers on the farms of the wealthy and become, so to speak, a rural proletariat.
Yearley, Steven Science, Technology, and Social Change (1988)
Many layers of management, most of it very highly paid, has inserted itself in the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
(noun)
Definition
the working class
a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Synonyms
working class
the masses
lower classes
commoners
the herd
wage-earners
lower orders
the common people
hoi polloi
Inflated costs are designed to keep the hoi polloi at bay.
plebs
the rabble
the great unwashed (derogatory)
labouring classes
proles (derogatory, slang, mainly British)
commonalty
Opposites
upper class
,
aristocracy
,
nobility
,
gentry
,
peerage
,
ruling class
,
upper crust (informal)
,
aristos (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of hoi polloi
Definition
the ordinary people when compared to the rich or well-educated
Inflated costs are designed to keep the hoi polloi at bay.