épater le bourgeois

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word épater le bourgeois. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word épater le bourgeois, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say épater le bourgeois in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word épater le bourgeois you have here. The definition of the word épater le bourgeois will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofépater le bourgeois, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from French épater le bourgeois (amaze the bourgeois).

Verb

épater le bourgeois

  1. (literary) To scandalize, provoke the middle class.
    • 1987, Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students:
      All that was needed were the heroes willing to act out the fantasies the public now accepted as reality: the hero, as hedonist, who dares to do in public what the public wants to see. It was épater les bourgeois as a bourgeois calling.