nouveau pauvre

noun

A newly impoverished person; somebody who has recently become poor.

Opposite
nouveau riche
OriginFrench nouveau pauvre →
First used 1965
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Meanings

nounnouveau pauvre (plural nouveaux pauvres)

plural nouveaux pauvres

  1. A newly impoverished person; somebody who has recently become poor.First known use 1965
adjectivenouveau pauvre (not comparable)
  1. not comparableSimilar to or having the qualities of a nouveau pauvre.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
nouveau riche

Origin

  1. Frenchnouveau pauvre“new poor”
  2. Englishnouveau pauvre

Unadapted borrowing from French nouveau pauvre (“new poor”), modeled on nouveau riche (“new money”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nouveau pauvre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nouveau%20pauvre

MLA

“nouveau pauvre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nouveau%20pauvre. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nouveau pauvre,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nouveau%20pauvre.

Source: nouveau pauvre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.