as in bumpkin
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
city dwellers who looked down on their cousins from northern Maine as hicks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hickish
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unsophisticated
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of hick
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2025
In first grade, when a teacher called him a hick, Ciotti threw an inkwell at her.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for hick
Noun
Sorrentino may also be exorcising some conflicting feelings about his birthplace, which is portrayed as a vulgar, crude place populated by crooks and hicks and photographed like its paradise.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2025
In first grade, when a teacher called him a hick, Ciotti threw an inkwell at her.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
Allen’s enduring affection for Keaton is as evident on the page as his insistence that Los Angeles (where Keaton was born and raised) is a hick town.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for hick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hick
Noun
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Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
21 Oct. 2025
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Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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This sort of behavior is childish and unsophisticated.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
And Blackstone is not an unsophisticated hotel owner.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
Adjective
-
Gayner is an unabashed acolyte of the Berkshire way of doing things, right down to his company's portfolio of long-term investments in the stock market and a folksy apathy for quarterly earnings reports.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
11 Dec. 2025
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Throughout the New England property, guests will be able to enjoy festive decor like garlands, flower arrangements, and an 18-foot Christmas tree trimmed with vintage glass ornaments and folksy felt-and-wood embellishments.—
John Ortved,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The reactionary anti-woke moment of the 2020s feels as deflated as ever, and our collective nostalgia for 2016 appears to offer the chance at something of a do-over.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
8 Feb. 2026
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But in most people, facial bloating and undereye puffiness are usually just reactionary.—
Georgia Casey,
Allure,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
Adjective
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The look blended ornate embroidery with a Western spin, merging high fashion with Wilson’s countrified finesse.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
17 Nov. 2025
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Between Ojai and Ventura, kids can try their hand at line dancing, bocce, and other countrified activities at Old Creek Ranch & Winery.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Harry would be right to be bitter; Sally’s optimism was for rubes.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
17 Dec. 2025
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As for partisan rubes like Senator Van Hollen, Maryland can do better.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hick. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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