demimonde
noun
demi·monde ˈde-mi-ˌmänd 
ˈde-mē-
1
a
: a class of women on the fringes of respectable society supported by wealthy lovers
also : their world
b
: the world of prostitution
2
: a distinct circle or world that is often an isolated part of a larger world
a night in the disco demimonde
especially : one having low reputation or prestige
Synonyms
- demiworld
- half-world
- netherworld
- underbelly
- underworld
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a documentary examining the demimonde of organized crime
Recent Examples on the Web As an author, essayist and historian of the urban demimonde, Lucy Sante is a cultural rover of the old school. 
Marc Weingarten, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 Tokyo Vice adapts the memoir of a U.S. journalist who covered the Japanese capital’s criminal demimonde in the late 1990s. Judy Berman, Time, 4 Apr. 2022 Leviss joined the Vanderpump demimonde in season 5 as Kennedy’s new girlfriend. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021 Tango, a style of music as well as dance, had stories to tell besides those of the Buenos Aires demimonde: love stories, stories of social action. Washington Post, 15 June 2021 Finger and Weber talk for an hour or so, spelunking deep into the demimonde with convivial delight. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 31 May 2021 Runyon’s sense of the racing demimonde, though, promises deeper pleasures on offer. Max Watman, WSJ, 28 May 2021 With the help of Sonny’s ex-partner, Marty MacChicken, a gun-loving agitator with keen intuition who plays the straight man to the sad-sack and dryly comedic Sonny, the Chicken Police delve into Clawville’s demimonde. Washington Post, 21 May 2021 Shawishes are the primary brokers between the demimonde of refugees and the aid workers, municipal officials, employers, security agents, and journalists who interact with them. Alexander Dziadosz, Harper's Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020 See More
Marc Weingarten, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2022 Tokyo Vice adapts the memoir of a U.S. journalist who covered the Japanese capital’s criminal demimonde in the late 1990s. Judy Berman, Time, 4 Apr. 2022 Leviss joined the Vanderpump demimonde in season 5 as Kennedy’s new girlfriend. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021 Tango, a style of music as well as dance, had stories to tell besides those of the Buenos Aires demimonde: love stories, stories of social action. Washington Post, 15 June 2021 Finger and Weber talk for an hour or so, spelunking deep into the demimonde with convivial delight. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 31 May 2021 Runyon’s sense of the racing demimonde, though, promises deeper pleasures on offer. Max Watman, WSJ, 28 May 2021 With the help of Sonny’s ex-partner, Marty MacChicken, a gun-loving agitator with keen intuition who plays the straight man to the sad-sack and dryly comedic Sonny, the Chicken Police delve into Clawville’s demimonde. Washington Post, 21 May 2021 Shawishes are the primary brokers between the demimonde of refugees and the aid workers, municipal officials, employers, security agents, and journalists who interact with them. Alexander Dziadosz, Harper's Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
French demi-monde, from demi- + monde world, from Latin mundus
First Known Use
1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
demimonde
noun
as in underworld
a social sphere that exists outside of the mainstream a documentary examining the demimonde of organized crime Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- underworld
- netherworld
- abyss
- half-world
- underbelly
- depths
- demiworld