Synonyms and antonyms of Changing social or professional status in British Thesaurus

acquire (verb)

to get a particular reputation, position, or name

ascent (noun)

the process of becoming more important or famous

bankrupt (verb)

to make a person, business, or country bankrupt or very poor

beggar (verb)

formal to make a person, country, or organization very poor

better yourself ()

to improve your social status by educating yourself

climb (verb)

to move to a higher level in your job or social position

climb (noun)

the process of moving to a higher level in your job or social position

comedown (noun)

a situation in which you suddenly have less status or fewer advantages than you had previously

come out (old-fashioned)

old-fashioned if a young upper-class woman comes out, she formally becomes part of upper-class society by going to a special party or other social event for the first time

descend (verb)

humorous to come down to a lower level, especially a lower social level

disestablish (verb)

formal to take away the official status of an institution or organization, especially a church

downfall (noun)

a sudden loss of power, status, or success

downshift (verb)

to change to a different job or way of life, so that you have less money and responsibility but more satisfaction and happiness

downwardly mobile (adjective)

humorous moving to a lower social class and becoming poorer

elevate (verb)

formal to improve the status or importance of someone or something

ennoble (verb)

to make someone officially a nobleman or noblewoman (=a member of the highest social class) as an honour

enrich (verb)

formal to make someone richer

fall (noun)

someone’s defeat or loss of power

former (adjective)

used for describing someone or something that had a particular job, title, status etc in the past, but not now

gentrification (noun)

the process by which an area of a city where poor people live becomes an area where middle-class people live, as they buy the houses and repair them

impoverish (verb)

to make a person or country very poor

mobile (adjective)

able to move easily from one job, social class, place etc to another

mobility (noun)

the tendency to move between places, jobs, or social classes

move up in the world (humorous)

humorous to improve your social status, for example by getting a better job

pauperise ()

a British spelling of pauperize

pauperize (verb)

formal to make someone extremely poor

rags to riches ()

used for describing a situation in which someone who has been very poor becomes very rich

rags-to-riches (adjective)

mainly journalism used for describing a situation in which someone who has been very poor becomes very rich

reversal (noun)

a situation in which you and another person exchange your activities or status

rise through the ranks ()

to continue moving to more important or responsible positions in a company or organization

ruin (verb)

to make someone lose all their money or power

slum it (verb)

often humorous to spend time in conditions that you would not normally think were good enough for you

social climber (noun)

showing disapproval someone who tries to move into a higher social class, especially by being friendly to people of that class. This word shows that you dislike people like this.

social mobility (noun)

the ability to move easily from a lower social class to a higher one

sometime (adjective)

used for showing what someone used to be, for example what their job, status, or relationship was in the past

upgrade (verb)

to officially give someone or something a higher status

upward/downward mobility ()

a situation in which someone moves up/down in social class

upwardly/downwardly mobile ()

moving up or down in social class

upwardly mobile (adjective)

someone who is upwardly mobile moves into a higher social class by becoming richer and more successful

world (noun)

if someone moves up or down in the world, they move to a higher or lower social class

yuppify (verb)

to change a place from a place for poor or working-class people to one that is very expensive and popular with yuppies