1. past tense and past participle of proletarianize; to reduce or convert (a person, group, or class) to the status of a proletarian; to deprive of property or middle-class status
Usage: formal; often used in historical or sociological contexts

Examples

• The Industrial Revolution proletarianized many skilled craftsmen who lost their trades to factory machines.
• Economic policies proletarianized the middle class, forcing them into wage labor.
• Historians argue that colonialism proletarianized indigenous populations across the globe.
• The consolidation of farms proletarianized rural workers who once owned their own land.
• As automation increased, factory workers felt increasingly proletarianized and vulnerable.
• The financial crisis proletarianized professionals who had previously enjoyed stable careers.