Rude — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Rude (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. showing a lack of manners or consideration for others

   "it's rude to call someone ugly"

   similar: discourteous, disrespectful, ill-bred, ill-mannered, impertinent, impolite, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncalled-for, uncivil, ungracious, unhandsome, unmannered, unmannerly
   related: arch, audacious, bold, bold-faced, brash, brassy, brazen, cheeky, fresh, impudent, insolent, lippy, sassy, saucy, shameless, boorish, caddish, churlish, clownish, loutish, uncouth, vulgar, abrupt, blunt, brusque, crusty, curt, gruff, sharp, snippety, snippy, antisocial, crabbed, cross, disagreeable, grumpy, sullen, surly, improper, incorrect, indecent, indecorous, unseemly, arrogant, bumptious, conceited, haughty, high-handed, imperious, peremptory, pompous, presumptuous, pretentious, supercilious, superior
   opposite: civil, considerate, courteous, genteel, gracious, mannerly, polite, thoughtful, well-bred
   near: humble, meek, modest, unassertive, deferential, dutiful, respectful, submissive, yielding, acceptable, appropriate, becoming, befitting, correct, decent, decorous, fit, fitting, good, meet, proper, respectable, right, seemly, suitable, affable, cordial, friendly, genial, hospitable, sociable, felicitous, graceful, chivalrous, courtly, gallant, ceremonious, elegant, refined

2. hastily or roughly constructed

   "a rude shelter built from unfinished logs by some forgotten pioneer"

   similar: artless, clumsy, crude, jerry-built, jerry-rigged, jury-rigged, rough, rough-and-ready, rough-and-tumble, rough-hewn, unrefined
   related: defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect, imprecise, inexact, inartistic, undressed, unfinished, unpolished, unworked, amateur, amateurish, inexpert, unprofessional, unskilled, unskillful, primitive, rudimentary, unshaped, unshapen
   opposite: refined
   near: faultless, finished, flawless, meticulous, perfect, perfected, polished, well-done, adept, adroit, dexterous, expert, masterful, masterly, neat, practiced, skillful, workmanlike, artful, artistic, sophisticated, exact, precise

3. belonging to or characteristic of an early level of skill or development

   "rude stone tools"

   similar: crude, low, primitive, rudimentary
   related: basic, simple, uncomplicated, homely, homespun, unsophisticated, early, embryonic, primeval, primordial, backward, underdeveloped, undeveloped, aged, ancient, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, dated, fusty, hoary, musty, obsolete, old, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, outworn, passé, past, quaint, unmodernized
   opposite: advanced, developed, evolved, high, higher, late
   near: complex, complicated, intricate, involved, sophisticated, full-blown, grown, mature, matured, perfected, ripe, ripened, civilized, cultivated, enlightened, refined, contemporary, current, latest, mod, modern, modernistic, new, newfangled, new-fashioned, novel, now, present-day, space-age, state-of-the-art, supermodern, ultramodern, up-to-date

4. lacking in refinement or good taste

   "a comedian who uses a lot of rude language in his nightclub act"

   similar: coarse, common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, illiberal (archaic), incult, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, roughneck, rugged, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar
   related: boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly, clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish, inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless, countrified, provincial, rustic, unsophisticated, graceless, inelegant, tacky, animallike, barbaric, barbarous, uncivilized, mannerless, unmannered, unmannerly
   opposite: civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred
   near: aristocratic, courtly, patrician, elegant, graceful, restrained, considerate, gracious, sensitive, thoughtful, citified, sophisticated, urbane

5. not civilized

   "missionaries who believed that it was their duty to convert the rude peoples of the world"

   similar: barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, heathen, heathenish, natural, Neanderthal, savage, uncivil, uncivilized, uncultivated, wild
   related: coarse, crude, primitive, rough, uncouth, uncultured
   opposite: civilized
   near: cultured, enlightened, humane, sophisticated, genteel, polished, polite, refined, urbane, well-bred, semicivilized

6. lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books

   "rude hillbillies they might have been, but they produced music with real poignancy"

   similar: analphabetic, benighted, dark, ignorant, illiterate, nonliterate, simple, uneducated, uninstructed, unlearned, unlettered, unread, unschooled, untaught, untutored
   related: functionally illiterate, innumerate, semiliterate, unknowledgeable, artless, lowbrow, philistine, uncultivated, uncultured, callow, green, inexperienced, innocent, naive, unsophisticated, raw, unskilled, untrained, brainless, dumb, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, stupid, witless, foolish, senseless, silly
   opposite: educated, knowledgeable, lettered, literate, schooled, well-informed, well-read
   near: brilliant, intelligent, smart, experienced, expert, trained, erudite, learned, polyhistoric, polymath, scholarly, cultivated, cultured, highbrow, intellectual, sophisticated, acquainted, aware, familiar

7. 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"

   similar: crude, native, natural, raw, undressed, unprocessed, unrefined, untreated, in the raw, in the rough
   related: undeveloped, rough-hewn, semifinished, unfinished, unpolished, uncooked, impure, unfiltered
   opposite: dressed, processed, refined, treated
   near: filtered, pure, purified