as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a TV producer who knew what the unwashed masses wanted—and unhesitatingly gave it to them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
Aunt Edna was fond of snootily reminding us that we need not take our manners from the great unwashed
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unwashed
Mark Prussin, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Sorry Lady Liberty – no unwashed masses need apply.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
Bliss is said to have examined Garfield's wounds with unwashed hands and dirty tools, and the president's death further damaged his reputation.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025
The Chinese mill’s Soft Raw collection enables customer to use unwashed denim directly off the roll with a soft comfortable hand and deep dark inky indigo shades.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Adjective
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
—Mark Prussin, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Sorry Lady Liberty – no unwashed masses need apply.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
Bliss is said to have examined Garfield's wounds with unwashed hands and dirty tools, and the president's death further damaged his reputation.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025
The Chinese mill’s Soft Raw collection enables customer to use unwashed denim directly off the roll with a soft comfortable hand and deep dark inky indigo shades.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwashed
Adjective
-
Boxer Imane Khelif admitted to having the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, which is found in biological males, and undergoing hormone treatments to lower testosterone levels ahead of the 2024 Olympics in an interview with the French sports publication L'Equipe.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court to amend the 2024 ruling.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But the earlier dolls were crude, lumpen things, a cross between a beanbag and a sculpted potato.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
Tanner spoke in a blend of political rabble-rousing and entrepreneurial uplift.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
-
There’s something quite magical, really, about millions of bits of colorful paper flying like snow through the air over a raucous rabble.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Despite the win, Akey remained humble about her performance.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
But humble alpine outpost, this is not.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In Ukraine, besides sleet and snow, the daily forecast includes drones and missiles raining down on the war-weary populace.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Neither of the first two games was overly competitive, although the local populace had no problem with the result of the first one.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023 and made his diagnosis public the following year.—
Michaela Zee,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
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But that came potentially at the expense of appealing to an American public that really does want answers.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
-
These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship.—
Time,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwashed. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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