Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense gentrifies, present participle gentrifying, past tense, past participle gentrified
verb [usually passive]
When a street or area is gentrified, it becomes a more expensive place to live because wealthy people move into the areaand buy the houses where people with less money used to live.
The local neighbourhood, like so many areas of Manhattan, is gradually being gentrified. [beVERB-ed]
gentrification (dʒentrɪfɪkeɪʃən)uncountable noun
...the gentrification of the area.
gentrify in British English
(ˈdʒɛntrɪˌfaɪ)
verbWord forms: -fies, -fying or -fied
(transitive)
to make (an area) a more expensive place to live through wealthy people moving into the area and buying the houses where people with less money used to live
The local neighbourhood is gradually being gentrified.
Derived forms
gentrified (ˈgentriˌfied)
adjective
gentrifier (ˈgentriˌfier)
noun
gentrify in American English
(ˈdʒɛntrɪˌfaɪ)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈgentriˌfied or ˈgentriˌfying
1.
to convert (a deteriorated or aging area in a city) into a more affluent middle-class neighborhood, as by remodeling dwellings, resulting in increased property values and in displacement of the poor
2.
to raise to a higher status or condition; improve, uplift, etc.
Derived forms
gentrification (ˌgentrifiˈcation)
noun
gentrifier (ˈgentriˌfier)
noun
Word origin
< gentry + -fy
Examples of 'gentrify' in a sentence
gentrify
Her attempts to gentrify descriptions of bodily functions regularly ended up in the book of fame in the back.