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as in crude
being such as found in nature and not altered by processing or refining rude pelts that were sent to Europe to be fashioned into elegant hats and coats

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective rude differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of rude are crude, raw, and rough. While all these words mean "lacking in social refinement," rude implies ignorance of or indifference to good form; it may suggest intentional discourtesy.

rude behavior

Where would crude be a reasonable alternative to rude?

The words crude and rude are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, crude may apply to thought or behavior limited to the gross, the obvious, or the primitive.

a crude joke

When would raw be a good substitute for rude?

In some situations, the words raw and rude are roughly equivalent. However, raw suggests being untested, inexperienced, or unfinished.

turning raw youths into polished performers

When is rough a more appropriate choice than rude?

The synonyms rough and rude are sometimes interchangeable, but rough is likely to stress lack of polish and gentleness.

rough manners

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rude In interviews, Candy, who struggled with his weight for much of his life, had to deal with the press making rude comments about his size. Brent Lang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025 This question becomes thornier once Dorotea visits Rocca in prison, finding her rude and abrasive though not irrational. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025 Are people getting ruder these days? The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2025 Fox News host Dana Perino, a former White House press secretary, called out how rude the governor’s messages tended to be. Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rude
Adjective
  • The 49-year-old rapper kicked Adrien Broner off the show’s set for incessantly flirting with the two women to a disrespectful degree.
    Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • That’s why any claim a critic wants to make, whatever disrespectful statement a skeptic, or hater wants to level on this team can’t be defended.
    Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In the afterglow of the finale, outlets hit publish on SEO-bait around who did what, and clumsy think pieces like this one followed.
    Thomas Page, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
  • His paranoia, played with clumsy charm by a mustachioed and bleary-eyed Leonardo DiCaprio, is half-cocked and somewhat comical.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Due to an accidental feature of this primitive technology, the color of television made in the middle nineteen sixties is essentially public, rather than private.
    Scott Stossel, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Campsites are a step above primitive, with nearby water, pit toilets, picnic tables and food lock-up boxes provided.
    Don Sproul, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In most places, private companies can fire employees for any reason — and that includes crass social media posts, said Jeffrey Hirsch, a professor of labor and employment law at the University of North Carolina.
    CNN.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Edwards, along with protesting comrade Tom Hopper (Raife Hastings) and crass CIA contractor Jules Landry (Luke Hemsworth) join a secret CIA unit fighting terrorism in Europe.
    Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 July 2025
  • The economy will not thrive on backward, barbarian technologies and our babies will suffer from the burden of debt, bad air and blackouts.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • The fact that multiple guests were ignorant of the CCP’s control over CGTN shows that booking agents working for the network may have failed to disclose such information.
    Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The league might be skeptical that the Clippers were merely ignorant of the Aspiration-Leonard relationship and question why the team didn’t undertake more diligence.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The two firms are also considering building an oil pipeline and storage facility in Oman to help boost Iraq’s crude exports.
    Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • That prompted a frustrated Webex engineer, Eric Yuan, to quit and start Zoom, which is why WebEx looks like a crude prototype of what Zoom became.
    Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In 2014, he was found to have been discourteous and used force.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The main point is to avoid being discourteous of the people behind us by letting the door close in their respective faces.
    R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rude. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.

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