gentrification

noun

gen·​tri·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjen-trə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

: a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents

a neighborhood undergoing gentrification

"This week, we're talking about gentrification. Middle-class people move in. Property values and rents rise. Things change and improve but not for everyone. …"

—Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Opposition is also stoked by fear of gentrification—displacement of longtime residents through higher rents or property taxes.

—Steven Litt

The construction of luxury housing and gentrification of neighborhoods is pushing families out of communities they have called home for years.

—Heidi Romanish and David Snyder

In an effort to keep gentrification from creeping in the same way into the 30th Ward … Jessica Gutierrez wants to keep a lid on property taxes and inform residents about affordable housing.

—Alexandra Arriaga

Examples of gentrification in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Besides a decrease in consumer spending, others include the prevalence of reverse gentrification, an increase in secondhand shopping and rising unemployment rates. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 2 June 2025

The administration has failed to leverage tools such as tax abatements, reactivation of vacant properties or creation of opportunity zones to combat disinvestment or gentrification. —Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2025

Academics who study gentrification and its visual markers say the aesthetics of gray, modern homes serve as a strategic lure. —arkansasonline.com, 9 Mar. 2025

And the arena’s management did it by embracing the existing immigrant population in an era where rampant gentrification seeks to stifle New York’s quintessential diversity. —Kyle Denis, Billboard, 22 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

gentry + -ification

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gentrification

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration