Gentrify

//ˈd͡ʒɛn.tɹɪ.faɪ// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To renovate or improve something, especially housing or district, to make it more appealing to the middle classes (now often with the negative association of pricing out existing residents). transitive

    "Club neighbor Joe Gegis told the board that he was concerned about the licenses due to the problem of drunk drivers and that he believed the bar would lower property values, which have been rising in the area as it becomes increasingly gentrified."

  2. 2
    renovate so as to make it conform to middle-class aspirations wordnet
  3. 3
    To develop and invest in a penurious or impoverished place.

Example

More examples

"The area began to gentrify in the late 90s after the opening of the mall."

Etymology

From gentry + -fy.

Related phrases

middle class

More for "gentrify"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.