"Yuppify"

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 19, 2003:

yuppify \YUH-puh-fye\ verb : to make appealing to yuppies; also : to infuse with the qualities or values of yuppies

Example sentence: "Market tenants have had to lobby politicians . . . to sway them from plans to yuppify the market by adding trendy restaurants and nonfood vendors." (John S. Long, [Cleveland] _Plain Dealer_, Apr. 11, 2001)

Did you know? "Yuppy" and "yuppify" are products of the 1980s, but they owe a debt to predecessors from the 1960s and 1970s. "Hippie" (a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person who rejects societal mores; from "hip," meaning "cool") first appeared in print in 1965. "Yippie" (a politically active hippie; from Youth International Party) followed "hippie" into the language in 1968. "Gentrification" and "gentrify" (referring to the effects of influxes of relatively affluent people into deteriorating neighborhoods; from "gentry") made their debuts in 1964 and 1972, respectively. "Yuppie" (a young well-paid professional who lives and works in an urban area; probably from young urban professional; influenced by "hippie" and "yippie") hit the press in 1982. "Yuppify" and "yuppification" (patterned after "gentrify" and "gentrification") joined the lexicon in 1984.