wohlhabendere

Wohlhabendere is a German adjective form meaning “more wealthy” or “wealthier.” It is the comparative of wohlhabend and is used to compare wealth levels between people or groups. The form appears in attributive position before a noun and changes its ending according to gender, number, and article.

In singular usage with a definite article, the form wohlhabendere is common across genders: der wohlhabendere Mann, die wohlhabendere Frau, das wohlhabendere Kind. With an indefinite article or no article, other endings apply (for example, ein wohlhabenderer Mann or eine wohlhabendere Frau are possible in the right context). In plural, the corresponding form is die wohlhabenderen Männer, die wohlhabenderen Frauen, die wohlhabenderen Personen.

Wohlhabendere can also occur in the bare comparative after a determinerless noun, though in practice most examples use it with an article or other determiner. The word is primarily used in discourse about wealth, socioeconomic status, or inequality, and appears in journalism, policy discussions, and sociology texts. It is more formal or technical than everyday speech.

Wohlhabende (capitalized) is a related noun formation formed from the same stem and used as a nominalized adjective meaning “the wealthy” or “the well-off,” e.g., Die Wohlhabenden diskutierten die Steuerpolitik. This noun form refers to a group rather than to a single attribute and is common in analytical writing.

Etymologically, wohlhabend combines wohl (well) with habend (having), with the comparative suffix -er- to yield wohlhabender/wohlhabendere.