gentrify
verb
gen·tri·fy ˈjen-trə-ˌfī 
gentrified; gentrifying
transitive verb
: to attempt or accomplish the gentrification of
gentrified a run-down section of the city
intransitive verb
: to undergo gentrification
gentrifier
ˈjen-trə-ˌfī(-ə)r
noun 
Example Sentences
As the neighborhood became gentrified, the people who had lived there for many years could no longer afford it.
Recent Examples on the Web What was once whispered about and hidden in dark studios is now on full display for everyone to criticize, gentrify, and perhaps ostracize. 
Kourtney Pope, refinery29.com, 25 Aug. 2022 Critics say the project threatens to gentrify the enclave, bringing economic pressures to the community and negatively affecting the surrounding environment long-term. Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2022 Aurora Murillo, a Chula Vista resident and rental homeowner, fears the ordinance is too strict on landlords, ultimately forcing landlords to sell their properties and make way for big corporations to gentrify and rent units above the marketplace. San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 After the storm in 2005, the adjacent neighborhood began to gentrify, and sometime between then and the abandonment of the naval base locals named it the End of the World. Nathaniel Adams, Chron, 26 Apr. 2022 In David Blue Garcia’s direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Yarkin plays Melody, a young entrepreneur who co-leads an effort to gentrify a Texas ghost town known as Harlow. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2022 Specific neighborhoods had the foresight to declare a lot of things historic before people started trying to gentrify them. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2021 In extreme cases, digital nomads can gentrify an area to the extent that locals can no longer afford to live in it—or even feel welcome to do so. Diana Hubbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 June 2021 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents the historically Black Bayview neighborhood, has expressed concerns that turning homes into fourplexes could further gentrify his district and drive out longtime residents. J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 May 2021 See More
Kourtney Pope, refinery29.com, 25 Aug. 2022 Critics say the project threatens to gentrify the enclave, bringing economic pressures to the community and negatively affecting the surrounding environment long-term. Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2022 Aurora Murillo, a Chula Vista resident and rental homeowner, fears the ordinance is too strict on landlords, ultimately forcing landlords to sell their properties and make way for big corporations to gentrify and rent units above the marketplace. San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 After the storm in 2005, the adjacent neighborhood began to gentrify, and sometime between then and the abandonment of the naval base locals named it the End of the World. Nathaniel Adams, Chron, 26 Apr. 2022 In David Blue Garcia’s direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Yarkin plays Melody, a young entrepreneur who co-leads an effort to gentrify a Texas ghost town known as Harlow. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2022 Specific neighborhoods had the foresight to declare a lot of things historic before people started trying to gentrify them. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2021 In extreme cases, digital nomads can gentrify an area to the extent that locals can no longer afford to live in it—or even feel welcome to do so. Diana Hubbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 June 2021 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents the historically Black Bayview neighborhood, has expressed concerns that turning homes into fourplexes could further gentrify his district and drive out longtime residents. J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
gentry + -ify (or as back-formation from gentrification)
First Known Use
1972, in the meaning defined at transitive sense