crude

adjective

\ ˈkrüd

cruder; crudest

Definition of crude

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity a crude stereotype crude tools crude jokes

2 : existing in a natural state and unaltered by cooking or processing crude oil crude ore

3 : rough or inexpert in plan or execution a crude shelter

4 : lacking a covering, glossing, or concealing element : obvious crude facts

5 : tabulated without being broken down into classes the crude death rate

6 archaic : unripe, immature

crude

noun

Definition of crude (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance in its natural unprocessed state especially : unrefined petroleum

Other Words from crude Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about crude

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Synonyms & Antonyms for crude

Synonyms: Adjective

native, natural, raw, rude, undressed, unprocessed, unrefined, untreated

Antonyms: Adjective

dressed, processed, refined, treated

Choose the Right Synonym for crude

Adjective

rude, rough, crude, raw mean lacking in social refinement. rude implies ignorance of or indifference to good form; it may suggest intentional discourtesy. rude behavior rough is likely to stress lack of polish and gentleness. rough manners crude may apply to thought or behavior limited to the gross, the obvious, or the primitive. a crude joke raw suggests being untested, inexperienced, or unfinished. turning raw youths into polished performers

Examples of crude in a Sentence

Adjective

They built a crude shelter out of branches. a crude summary of the country's history She first described the procedure in crude terms, and then went into more detail.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Saudi Arabia is the second-largest supplier of crude oil to China after Russia. — WSJ, "Corrections & Amplifications," 25 Feb. 2019 But who wants a pair of crude wooden plates on their ceiling? — Popular Mechanics, "To Install a Pull-Up Bar, We Built a Surfboard," 23 Mar. 2019 The imitation was crude and cruel, but the point was again to make a woman sound stupid, too clueless to make her own decisions. — Glamour, "Tucker Carlson Said Furious Women Should Watch Him. Here’s What I See.," 19 Mar. 2019 But its usage, driven mostly by demand for gasoline, remained 10 percent below the 2005 peak, aligning with recent predictions gasoline will soon be displaced as a main driver of crude demand worldwide. — Katherine Blunt, San Antonio Express-News, "U.S. fossil fuel consumption reaches lowest share in a century," 3 July 2018 The crude black-and-white faces on the left are from 2014, published as part of a landmark paper that introduced the AI tool known as the generative adversarial network (GAN). — James Vincent, The Verge, "These faces show how far AI image generation has advanced in just four years," 17 Dec. 2018 The windows there show a crude skyline rendered in what might be cardboard and drawn in a shaky child’s hand. — Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, "Mr. and Mr. Polar Bear, Karaoke, and the Grinch: A Closer Look at the Holiday Windows," 27 Nov. 2018 Decades earlier, Thomas had emphatically denied engaging in the crude behavior Hill described. — Celeste Katz, Glamour, "In the Age of #MeToo, Will Christine Blasey Ford’s Experience Be the Same as Anita Hill’s?," 17 Sep. 2018 Up until 2012, Iran was China's third-largest source of crude oil imports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. — Jon Gambrell, Fox News, "Iran looks warily to China for help as US sanctions resume," 12 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Futures for May delivery on West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, fell 0.4% to $59.98 a barrel. — Sarah Mcfarlane, WSJ, "Oil Prices Slip After Hitting 2019 High," 21 Mar. 2019 Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign-wealth fund took a major step toward selling off some of its substantial holdings in oil-and-gas companies, a move to shield the oil-rich nation from the risk of permanently lower crude prices. — Sarah Mcfarlane, WSJ, "Norway’s Sovereign-Wealth Fund Moves Toward Divesting From Oil, Gas Stocks," 8 Mar. 2019 Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 49 cents in London to $62.00. — Joe Mcdonald, The Seattle Times, "Asian stocks rise after listless Wall Street day," 11 Feb. 2019 For generations, Texas has been a steady producer of fossil fuels like coal and crude oil. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Texas Could Easily Generate Most of Its Energy Through Wind And Solar, Study Finds," 3 Jan. 2019 An average of 718,000 barrels of crude a day traversed America’s railways as of October, the latest data available, an 88% increase from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. — Paul Ziobro, WSJ, "Oil Trains Make Comeback as Pipeline Bottlenecks Worsen," 31 Jan. 2019 In many ways, the oil business in the U.S. has never been better, with domestic producers in a growing number of states churning out barrels of crude in record numbers. — Rob Nikolewski, sandiegouniontribune.com, "California's ranking as an oil-producing state is slipping," 12 July 2018 The price of crude plummeted more than 60 percent over 2014 and 2015. — Rick Clough, Bloomberg.com, "GE Exits Health, Oil as CEO Shrinks Onetime Titan to Save It," 26 June 2018 Media: Brandpoint So Enterprise Products is using hoses to load almost 1.1 million barrels of crude onto the vessel. — Andrea Leinfelder, Houston Chronicle, "Tight squeeze: Supersized crude carrier calls on Texas City port," 22 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.