lumpenproletariat
/ˌlʊm.pənˌpɹəʊ.ləˈtɛː.ɹi.ət/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.33 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The lowest stratum of the proletariat, whose mental and physical health, mores and morale have deteriorated, through exploitation by the bourgeoisie, to a degree where they cannot build class consciousness and hence cannot be mobilized for the revolution.
noun
A social underclass; the riffraff.
Example Sentences
- "For this reason Marx avoided encouraging the facile but false idea that to abolish exploitation meant simply to strip the rich of their movable possessions: this was contrary to his own theory and only served to foster the envious and predatory mentality of peasant movements and the lumpenproletariat."
- "I hadn't quite figured her out yet: rude snob or lumpenproletariat?"