nouveau
Freshly emerged style
Nouveau is French for "new," borrowed into English as a slightly pretentious or ironic modifier suggesting novelty that may lack substance or authenticity.
It appears most often in compounds: nouveau riche describes the newly wealthy, implying they lack the refinement of old money.
Nouveau cuisine was a style of French cooking emphasizing lighter preparations.
The word often carries a faint sneer—newness without depth.
Abundance of money
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
- arrivisteAmbitious social newcomer
- parvenuGraceless new-money type
- upstartArrogant recent success
ostentatious · pretentious · flashy · gauche · status · luxury · opulence · moneyed
Recently created or begun
- freshNewly made, not stale
- modernOf recent times
- contemporaryOf the present age
- latestMost recently arrived
updated · current · emerging · reinvented · revived · renewed · reimagined · rebooted
Formal display to viewers
- platingSurface metal application
- fusionJoining into unity
- lightnessMinimal weight or gravity
- reductionMaking something smaller
molecular · seasonal · artistic · minimalist · gastronomy · refined · delicate · inventive
Formal withdrawal from union
- mackintoshWaterproof rubberized overcoat
- organicFrom living matter
- curvilinearCharacterized by curved lines
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
decorative · fin-de-siecle · whiplash · floral · sinuous · aesthetic
affluence
Abundance of money
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
- arrivisteAmbitious social newcomer
- parvenuGraceless new-money type
upstart · ostentatious · pretentious · flashy · gauche · status · luxury · opulence · moneyed · elite
new
Recently created or begun
- freshNewly made, not stale
- modernOf recent times
- contemporaryOf the present age
latest · updated · current · emerging · reinvented · revived · renewed · reimagined · rebooted · wave
presentation
Formal display to viewers
reduction · molecular · seasonal · artistic · minimalist · gastronomy · refined · delicate · inventive · haute
secession
Formal withdrawal from union
- mackintoshWaterproof rubberized overcoat
- organicFrom living matter
- curvilinearCharacterized by curved lines
ornamental · decorative · fin-de-siecle · whiplash · floral · sinuous · aesthetic
nouveauold
Existing many years
established · antique · traditional · ancient · vintage
nouveauold money
Long-established family fortune
established · hereditary · aristocratic · patrician · blue-blooded
nouveautraditional
Following long-held customs
classical · conventional · academic · neoclassical · conservative
- nouveau richeRecently wealthy, often showy
- Art NouveauCurvilinear decorative movement, 1890s