as in bumpkin
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
city dwellers who looked down on their cousins from northern Maine as hicks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hickish
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unsophisticated
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hick
Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
Rimac moved to Germany at age 2 and then to an independent Croatia in his early teens, where he was teased for his hick Bosnian accent.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 3 Oct. 2021
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 June 2024
Roxxxy, who is from Florida, rightly notes that Floridian redneck is not the stereotypical hick that Vanjie and Angie went with, but then doesn’t stand on business when Vanjie overhears.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for hick
Noun
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
Rimac moved to Germany at age 2 and then to an independent Croatia in his early teens, where he was teased for his hick Bosnian accent.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 3 Oct. 2021
Adjective
In the special, taped at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, Kober brings audiences together with stories about dealing with hometown hicks, unforgiving fruit flies and California candy cartels.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 June 2024
Roxxxy, who is from Florida, rightly notes that Floridian redneck is not the stereotypical hick that Vanjie and Angie went with, but then doesn’t stand on business when Vanjie overhears.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for hick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hick
Noun
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Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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Going to the Ron Burgundy–Ricky Bobby idiot well one time too many, Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a lazy, cynical longtime congressman running against a local bumpkin (Galifianakis).—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Police describe it as a brazen, unsophisticated robbery that occurred around 5:30 p.m. on June 18, targeting a jewelry store on the 5100 block of Mowry Avenue in Fremont.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
7 Aug. 2025
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Although the answer was reasonable for an unsophisticated seller, the listing agent should have required confirmation of licensing status with the Registrar of Contractors.—
Christopher A. Combs,
AZCentral.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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It was adapted into a huge hit movie starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, but the breakout characters were local yokels Ma and Pa Kettle, who went on to star in eight spinoff movies.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
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To the yokel who makes his donations in cash and is proud of himself for knowing what LEO stands for.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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Regardless of any tumult in the world, and in Minnesota specifically, the state fair has remained a fortress of nostalgia and folksy civic cheer.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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New logo has restaurant chain over a barrel Cracker Barrel is facing widespread backlash over its new logo, which no longer features a folksy country-store guy sitting next to a barrel.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the past, Kaepernick’s protest and countless other incidents have prompted reactionary vows to boycott the league, along with the ritualistic burning of team jerseys and other merchandise.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
16 Sep. 2025
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Ash took a defense that was aggressive and fast, then reduced it to a tentative and reactionary unit.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Baby Billy’s first full-frontal scene is more a testament to Walton Goggins’s incredible hayseed bravado in the rule.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2025
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The movie depicts Nashville as a town full of hayseeds who are bamboozled by the fast-talking Reynolds.—
Keith Sharon,
Nashville Tennessean,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Its twanging guitars and pounding drums scan as countrified classic rock, but every element seems muffled, as if emanating from an iPhone lost in a couch.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
26 July 2025
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Riverfront Stage: Georgia native Gavin Adcock (June 5, 3:10 p.m.) is a hard-living countrified rock favorite gaining in streaming renown.—
Joyce Orlando,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 June 2025
Noun
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As for partisan rubes like Senator Van Hollen, Maryland can do better.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2025
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There was no quintessential American, so Twain imagined him: a wily rube, cynical toward the same refinements of Europe that inspired awe in him.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hick. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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