gentrify
gentrify Lexical Profile
gentrify Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To renovate and improve a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste, often resulting in an influx of wealthier residents and the displacement of lower-income inhabitants.
"Real estate developers began to gentrify the historic waterfront district, replacing old warehouses with luxury apartments."
To make something more refined, polite, or respectable, often in a way that strips away its original working-class or authentic character.
"Several high-end restaurants have tried to gentrify traditional street food by serving it at inflated prices."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often carries critical or socio-politically charged connotations regarding the displacement of lower-income residents, rather than simply describing neutral urban renovation.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Back-formation from 'gentrification', a term coined by the German-born British sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964 from 'gentry' (ultimately from Old French 'genterise', meaning noble birth) plus '-fication'.