the peasantry

noun

: all the peasants living in an area or country
He tried to organize the peasantry for a revolt.
the Russian peasantry

Examples of the peasantry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Mao sought to mobilize the peasantry, stoking revolutionary fervor and social upheaval at home and abroad. Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2021 Mao and his colleagues channeled local religious practice to proselytize among the peasantry. Nick Frisch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Oct. 2017 Young Leo Tolstoy served as army officer during the siege of Sevastopol, and the extraordinary resilience of ordinary Russians defending the city opened his eyes to the virtues of the peasantry. Susan Richards, Foreign Affairs, 16 Mar. 2014 The demonstrations were not confined to Beijing and had the support of elements of the working class and the peasantry. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 By the autumn of 1848, the old regimes were on the march—with the peasantry firmly behind them and bolstered by a vast Russian army. James Robins, The New Republic, 8 Aug. 2023 The philosophical difference between Maoism and Marxism–Leninism is that the peasantry are the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than the proletariat. Matt B. Weir, Harper's Magazine, 11 Jan. 2022 Under the Russian empire, Jews living in what is now Ukraine in the 19th century tended to adopt Russian rather than Ukrainian, usually in addition to Yiddish, because Ukrainian was perceived as the language of the peasantry and conferred few benefits. David I. Klein, Sun Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2023

Dictionary Entries Near the peasantry

Cite this Entry

“The peasantry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20peasantry. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!