raw

adjective \ ˈrȯ \

Definition of raw

rawer play \ˈrȯ(-ə)r\; rawest play \ˈrȯ-əst\

1 :not cooked

2 a (1) :being in or nearly in the natural state :not processed or purified

raw fibers

raw sewage

(2) :not diluted or blended

raw spirits

b :unprepared or imperfectly prepared for use

c :not being in polished, finished, or processed form

raw data

a raw draft of a thesis

3 a (1) :having the surface abraded or chafed

(2) :very irritated

a raw sore throat

b :lacking covering :naked

c :not protected :susceptible to hurt

raw emotions

4 a :lacking experience or understanding :green

a raw recruit

b (1) :marked by absence of refinements

(2) :vulgar, coarse

raw language

c :not tempered :unbridled

raw power

5 :disagreeably damp or cold

a raw winter day

—

rawly

adverb

—

rawness

noun

See raw defined for English-language learners

See raw defined for kids

Examples of raw in a Sentence

He entered the raw data into a spreadsheet.
The shoes rubbed my heels raw.
His throat was raw from the cold air.

Recent Examples of raw from the Web

Overloaded sewage systems will start spewing raw sewage.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "What 35 Inches of Rain Dredges Up," 25 Aug. 2017
Early on, after her son’s death when the grief was raw and fresh, Micheshia thought about suicide.

— tessa weinberg, The Courier-Journal, "‘Seeing blood on the walls’: Mother of 7-year-old killed by stray bullet struggles with private heartache," 16 Aug. 2017
Raw footage of a car plowing into protesters in #Charlottesville.

— luke o'neil, Esquire, "'A Lot of Broken Bones, Blood, All of the Above': 3 Charlottesville Witnesses Share Their Stories," 13 Aug. 2017
A post shared by Andi Bartz (@andibartz) on Jun 28, 2017 at 4:22am PDT My eyes light up at sparkly chunks of raw crystals, and patiently the owners tell me about the purported healing energies of tiger's eye, rose quartz, and agate.

— andrea bartz, Redbook, "Why I Stopped Waiting for a Partner & Started Traveling the World," 10 Aug. 2017
So smooth the tap of Sam’s boots acquires a raw edge, like gunshot.

— Longreads, "And How Much of These Hills Is Gold," 3 Aug. 2017
The raw arithmetic is that some 44% of British exports go to the EU, 16% to countries with which the EU already has a free-trade deal and about 20% to America.

— The Economist, "The six flavours of Brexit," 22 July 2017
That’s why a growing number of scientists are having computers trawl through thousands of research papers at once for raw data and text.

— lindsay mckenzie, Science | AAAS, "Want to analyze millions of scientific papers all at once? Here’s the best way to do it," 21 July 2017
At the raw bar a tatted-up crew lops off the spines of sea urchins and shucks oysters from both coasts.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Los Angeles Magazine Hot Restaurant List for July 2017," 18 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of raw

Middle English, from Old English hrēaw; akin to Old High German hrō raw, Latin crudus raw, cruor blood, Greek kreas flesh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

raw Synonyms

Synonyms

uncooked

Antonyms

cooked

Related Words

unheated; rare; half-baked, underdone

Near Antonyms

well-done; overdone; baked, boiled, braised, broiled, fried, grilled, heated, roasted, sautéed (also sauteed); burned (or burnt), charred, scorched

Synonym Discussion of raw

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

raw

noun

Definition of raw

:a raw place or state

— in the raw

1 :in a natural, unrefined, or crude state

2 :naked

slept in the raw

See raw defined for English-language learners

Examples of raw in a Sentence

a secluded swimming hole where we could swim in the raw

Recent Examples of raw from the Web

Or the movie that’s making viewers pass out, like that cannibal horror film Raw.

— kenzie bryant, Vanities, "Jennifer Lawrence’s Boyfriend, Darron Aronofsky, Doesn’t Understand Her Housewives Obsession," 9 Aug. 2017
Or the movie that’s making viewers pass out, like that cannibal horror film Raw.

— kenzie bryant, vanityfair.com, "Jennifer Lawrence’s Boyfriend, Darren Aronofsky, Doesn’t Understand Her Housewives Obsession," 9 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of raw

1823

raw Synonyms

Synonyms

altogether, bareness, birthday suit, bottomlessness, buff, nakedness, nude, nudity

Related Words

toplessness; naturism, nudism

RAW Defined for English Language Learners

raw

adjective

Definition of raw for English Language Learners

: not cooked
: in a natural state : not treated or prepared
: not yet organized or changed in any way

RAW Defined for Kids

raw

adjective \ ˈrȯ \

Definition of raw for Students

rawer; rawest

1 :not cooked

raw fish

2 :having the skin scraped or roughened

She had raw red hands.

3 :being in or nearly in the natural state :not treated or prepared

raw sewage

4 :not trained or experienced

raw recruits

5 :unpleasantly damp or cold

a raw day

6 :lacking a normal or usual finish

the raw edge of a seam

—

rawness

noun

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See words that rhyme with raw Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for raw Spanish Central: Translation of raw Nglish: Translation of raw for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of raw for Arabic speakers

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Definition of raw

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rawness

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Origin and Etymology of raw

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Synonyms

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Synonym Discussion of raw

raw

Definition of raw

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Synonyms

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RAW Defined for English Language Learners

raw

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RAW Defined for Kids

raw

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rawness

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