bourgeois

¹ American  

[boor-zhwah, boor-zhwah, boo-zhwah, boor-zhwa] / bʊərˈʒwɑ, ˈbʊər ʒwɑ, ˈbu ʒwɑ, burˈʒwa /

adjective

1. having, reflecting, or relating to conventional tastes, opinions, and values believed to be determined mainly by a concern for respectability and material wealth; middle-class.

   He lived a bohemian lifestyle frowned upon by bourgeois morality.

   Bored with bourgeois suburbia and starved for authenticity, these progressive millennials are eager to participate in something challenging and important.

2. belonging to, characteristic of, or consisting of the middle class, especially as viewed in Marxist theory; concerned with ownership of property and maintenance of the status quo, and having or catering to interests opposed to those of the lower or working class.

   Soviet propaganda treated Democrats and Republicans as interchangeable parts of a bourgeois power structure.

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noun

plural

bourgeois

1. a person with conventional or banal tastes and opinions believed to be determined mainly by a concern for respectability and material wealth.

   In this movie he portrays a stuffy bourgeois who plays golf and reads all the right business magazines.

2. a member of the middle class, especially as viewed in Marxist theory.

3. a shopkeeper or merchant.

bourgeois ² American  

[ber-jois] / bərˈdʒɔɪs /

noun

Printing.

1. a size of type approximately 9-point, between brevier and long primer.

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Bourgeois ³ American  

[boor-zhwah, boor-zhwah, boo-zhwah, boor-zhwa] / bʊərˈʒwɑ, ˈbʊər ʒwɑ, ˈbu ʒwɑ, burˈʒwa /

noun

1. Léon Victor Auguste 1851–1925, French statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1920.

2. Louise, 1911–2010, U.S. sculptor, born in France.

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bourgeois ¹ British  

/ bʊəˈʒwɑː, bʊəˈʒwɑːz, ˈbʊəʒwɑː, ˈbʊəʒwɑːz /

noun

1. a member of the middle class, esp one regarded as being conservative and materialistic or (in Marxist thought) a capitalist exploiting the working class

2. a mediocre, unimaginative, or materialistic person

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adjective

1. characteristic of, relating to, or comprising the middle class

2. conservative or materialistic in outlook

   a bourgeois mentality

3. (in Marxist thought) dominated by capitalists or capitalist interests

Bourgeois ² British  

/ burʒwa /

noun

1. Léon Victor Auguste . (leɔ̃ viktɔr oɡyst). 1851–1925, French statesman; first chairman of the League of Nations: Nobel peace prize 1920

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bourgeois ³ British  

/ bəˈdʒɔɪs /

noun

1. (formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 9 point

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Other Word Forms

• bourgeoise noun

Etymology

Origin of bourgeois¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French; Old French borgeis burgess

Origin of bourgeois²

First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps from a printer so named

Explanation

The adjective bourgeois means relating to or typical of the middle class. If someone says, "Oh, how bourgeois!" it's probably an insult, meaning you're preoccupied with middle-class small-mindedness. As a noun, a bourgeois is a member of the middle class, originally a member of the middle class in France. The word was borrowed from French, from Old French burgeis "citizen of a town," from borc "town, village," from Latin burgus "fortress, castle." The derived word bourgeoisie "the middle class" is a later borrowing from French.

Example Sentences

He went to secondary school in the wealthy bourgeois 16th arrondissement of Paris, where he said he felt an uncomfortable outsider, and later attended the elite ENA administration school.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

The political centerpiece of 1968 was, at least if you’re French, the événements of May, in which bourgeois students took to the streets of Paris to re-enact the revolutionary theater of 1789.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

She’s all but doomed to be bourgeois and neurotic, as if a juvenile court has sentenced her to live in a New Yorker cartoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025

"They let you know if they're getting bored. It's not bourgeois polite and that appeals to me."

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2025

With the start of the Cultural Revolution all the stamp shops were closed down, because stamp collecting was considered bourgeois.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Related Words

• materialistic
• middle-class