as in boorish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners
it would be churlish for any dinner guest to express anything but gratitude for his host's generous hospitality
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Recent Examples of churlish
The churlish comments appeared to have come from conservative activists, or from bots on social media that generate partisan messages, still chafing that Burrows ascended to the speaker's desk with the support of more Democratic House members than Republicans.
—
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
And refusing to congratulate his SIL is just churlish.
—Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 21 June 2025
Marty, meanwhile, hollow-eyed and churlish about straying from their objective, seems haunted with guilt after a recent stint in jail for setting a building on fire.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
And refusing to congratulate his SIL is just churlish.
—Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 21 June 2025
Marty, meanwhile, hollow-eyed and churlish about straying from their objective, seems haunted with guilt after a recent stint in jail for setting a building on fire.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churlish
Adjective
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Kimmel, like Stephen Colbert, went from acting as boorish right-wing caricatures to playing themselves — that is, liberals who dislike Trump and support vaccines.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Depicting Americans as arrogant, loud, boorish and demeaning of other cultures, the term has stuck and is still mentioned 60-plus years later.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The series offers Whitford his latest opportunity to express general bemusement with the American political process, this time sporting a bushy white beard, and Whigham his latest opportunity to be an uncouth bull in an otherwise genteel china shop.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
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Every unflattering photo and uncouth inside joke will come to light.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This was like loutish English tourists turning up unannounced and urinating in the holy water.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
And Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in 2013 at age 51, was the show’s tempestuous soul, playing a loutish killer with a quick temper and sad eyes.—
Chris Vognar,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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What gave me the crazy idea to stand at the bar, listening to that woman being praised for her stupid f---ing commitment to New York City and her ugly f---ing buildings?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Those long familiar with Pratt’s clownish agent-of-chaos persona both onscreen and on their social feeds may find his latest role disorienting.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
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The combo together ensures that the lip doesn't look clownish.—
Sarah Hoffmann,
Allure,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Communism, in its traditional definition, describes a system in which private property is abolished and the means of production are collectively owned, with the goal of creating a classless society.—
Cameron Schoppa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Louis Hartz maintained that the hegemony of liberal thought, with its vaunting of the classless individual, made Marxists politically superfluous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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People who are rude or unaware with receptionists can poison your culture, create unnecessary hierarchies, and drive your best people to leave.—
Jessica Neal,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
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In a post on the AITA subreddit, the original poster (OP) explained that her sister, 34, who's always rude to her, has a 6-year-old son.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Who decides what’s decorous and what’s vulgar?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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