Meaning

Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous..

Definitions by Sense

1. Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.
2. Lacking refinement or skill; untaught; ignorant; raw.
3. Violent; abrupt; turbulent.
4. Somewhat obscene, pornographic, offensive.
5. Undeveloped, unskilled, inelegant.
6. Hearty, vigorous; found particularly in the phrase rude health.
7. Crudely made; primitive.
8. (MLE, slang) Good, awesome.

Example Sentences

This girl was so rude towards the cashier by screaming at him for no apparent reason.

Karen broke up with Fred because he was often rude to her.

Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress? Or else a rude despiser of good manners, That in civility thou seem'st so empty?

[S]he was rude to Sir James sometimes; but he is so kind, he never noticed it.

But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge

Though not as shee with Bow and Quiver armd, But with such Gardning Tools as Are yet rude, Guiltless of fire had formd, or Angels brought […]

It might be apprehended, that among rude nations, where the means of subsistence are procured with so much difficulty, the mind could never raise itself above the consideration of this subject

She had one of the caves fitted up as a laboratory, and, although her appliances were necessarily rude, the results that she attained were, as will become clear in the course of this narrative, sufficiently surprising.

Word Forms

• ruder
• rudest

Synonyms for rude

Antonyms for rude

Related Words

When Should You Use Rude?

Use rude when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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