as in hick
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
the bumpkin was overwhelmed by the city's confusing subway system
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Recent Examples of bumpkin
Simply put, the small-town bumpkins from North Florida who support this idea should be made to pay for it.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 2026
Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Going to the Ron Burgundy–Ricky Bobby idiot well one time too many, Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a lazy, cynical longtime congressman running against a local bumpkin (Galifianakis).
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Carter, perhaps the most decent man to ever occupy the Oval Office, was long written off as a country bumpkin, one who perhaps unsurprisingly left office as a one-term anomaly.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 9 Jan. 2025
Emily in Paris On Location: Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris
Rediscover Paris as Chicago bumpkin Emily (played by Lily Collins) moves there for a job and takes you to places like Galeries Lafayette, Galerie-Musee Baccarat and Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris.
—Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
There are no bumpkins in Hamaguchi’s movie, either—no one who can be reduced to a small-town, salt-of-the-earth cliché.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 May 2024
At their worst, these histories, like the Soviet one, reduce Ukrainians to lazy, irresponsible, prejudiced country bumpkins with exaggerated penchants for vodka and violence.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2016
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 2026
Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Going to the Ron Burgundy–Ricky Bobby idiot well one time too many, Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a lazy, cynical longtime congressman running against a local bumpkin (Galifianakis).
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Carter, perhaps the most decent man to ever occupy the Oval Office, was long written off as a country bumpkin, one who perhaps unsurprisingly left office as a one-term anomaly.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 9 Jan. 2025
Emily in Paris On Location: Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris
Rediscover Paris as Chicago bumpkin Emily (played by Lily Collins) moves there for a job and takes you to places like Galeries Lafayette, Galerie-Musee Baccarat and Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris.
—Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024
There are no bumpkins in Hamaguchi’s movie, either—no one who can be reduced to a small-town, salt-of-the-earth cliché.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 May 2024
At their worst, these histories, like the Soviet one, reduce Ukrainians to lazy, irresponsible, prejudiced country bumpkins with exaggerated penchants for vodka and violence.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumpkin
Noun
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Which is to say, this isn’t the story of a greedy, materialistic man who suffers a crisis of conscience while trying to pry a priceless treasure away from an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Ricky develops romantic feelings for Chad even though Russ plays him as a soft-spoken, possibly dim rural hick who may well be a literal man-child.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Between them sat a peasant with matted hair and a padded coat over his shoulders.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The split widens when a labor strike becomes an armed revolt, with Jacir gamely tracking the hardening or shifting loyalties of both her peasant and well-to-do characters.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
All those unsuspecting rubes with no idea what’s about to hit them.—
Joe Hagan,
Vanity Fair,
18 Mar. 2026
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And yet, to holier-than-thou doctors like young Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson), Howard is a cautionary tale: a glutton who can’t control himself, a rube who hasn’t heard of Ozempic, and a lazy slouch who can’t manage to drag himself to aqua aerobics.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Part of his way of taking it yokel — besides bringing in Foo Fighter Rami Jaffee on accordion and Willie Aron blowing harmonica — was to add a previously unheard yodel to the chorus.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
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It was adapted into a huge hit movie starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, but the breakout characters were local yokels Ma and Pa Kettle, who went on to star in eight spinoff movies.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
Using his Hollywood makeup father’s prosthetics, Holliday transforms himself into hayseed-like Chad Powers.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
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Baby Billy’s first full-frontal scene is more a testament to Walton Goggins’s incredible hayseed bravado in the rule.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Marlowe, the son of a poor Canterbury cobbler, and Shakespeare, the son of a Stratford glover and alderman, were both unlikely artistic geniuses, provincials in a nation in which social class was rigidly fixed.—
Heller McAlpin,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 Sep. 2025
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Sanders is a Catholic priest and former Augustinian provincial in California and lives in the Augustinian community in North Park.—
Gary Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2025
Noun
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When Feld Entertainment unveiled a new edition of the circus with much fanfare in 2023, the only animal in it was a mechanical robot dog and while there was some comedy, traditional circus clowns were not a part of it.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2026
-
In Nuremberg,Göring is closer to a sad clown than to a monster.—
Alice Kaplan,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Full of hearty flavors and filling vegetables, this rustic, comforting dinner comes together swiftly thanks to your slow cooker.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2026
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Expect a rustic, generously sized tenderloin served on a classic bun, the kind of no-nonsense sandwich that feels right at home in a century-old mom-and-pop setting.—
Susan Stapleton,
Des Moines Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumpkin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumpkin. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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