ruling class

Noun

Meaning

the class of people exerting power or authority

Source: WordNet

Synonyms

people in power gentry hall of fame society peerage noblesse administration authorities establishment elite nobility hierarchy aristocracy royalty bureaucracy
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Antonyms

commons people common community crowd masses
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Hypernyms

upper class upper crust

Examples

Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class. Al Capone

The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return. Gore Vidal

A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud. George Orwell

What better way for a ruling class to claim and hold power than to pose as the defenders of the nation. Christopher Hitchens

Inertia! Our ruling class knows one law; no change. Despotism! They know one rule; force. Maldistribution! They know one desire; to hold what is theirs. Isaac Asimov

A society that put more emphasis on birth than ability was likely to breed ability out of its ruling class. Damon Knight

Close letter words and terms

ruling ruling authority ruling body ruling establishment ruling family ruling grade