lumpen

[ luhm-puhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to disfranchised and uprooted individuals or groups, especially those who have lost status:

   the lumpen bourgeoisie.

noun

1. a lumpen individual or group.

lumpen

/ ˈlʌmpən /

adjective

1. informal.
   stupid or unthinking

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumpen¹

First recorded in 1945–50; extracted from lumpenproletariat

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumpen¹

from German Lump vagabond, influenced in meaning by Lumpen rag, as in lumpenproletariat

Example Sentences

Aimée played the refined, educated wife of the lumpen cheese factory owner Ugo Tognazzi, both equally flummoxed by the kidnapping of their son and the collapse of their business.

From New York Times

His answer is what he calls “Precarious Sculpture,” proliferating jumbles of lumpen objects made from common, impermanent stuff, as if refusing to play by the elitist rules of enduring art.

From New York Times

The store is overrun by a mob of unusually lumpen bargain hunters, and the riot that ensues is a bloody doozy, coming off like an amalgam of George A. Romero and Jean-Luc Godard.

From New York Times

To get there, we had to follow the Ukrainian soldiers on foot - within a few paces my boots become lumpen and heavy with thick dirt.

From BBC

In this context, the purely promotional segments on Sunday — a long plug for the Academy museum, a creaky salute to Warner Bros.’ 100th anniversary — felt right at home but also, in their reinforcement of the show’s lumpen unremarkableness, more irritating than ever.

From New York Times