as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
his persona may be that of an aw-shucks country singer, but offstage he is anything but
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Recent Examples of aw-shucks
There was no aw-shucks mugging, no twee riffs on lunchbox junk food: his cooking was precise, focussed, with a near-reverential attention to detail, and a high-end sensibility.
—
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
How Maye and his aw-shucks demeanor became a big-play bully in leading one of the game’s most prolific offenses.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But there was always more to Aydın than his aw-shucks dimples.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Viewers who know him only as the New Age-y inspirational author Ricken Hale on Severance will be suitably creeped out by how effectively Chernus slides from an aw-shucks, salt-of-the-earth type to an assessing predator manipulating his victims into a sense of safety.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
The aw-shucks routine appeared carefully calibrated to reinforce his core message, framing Republicans as the reasonable stewards of government being thwarted by extremist Democrats.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
Played by the versatile Domhnall Gleeson, in a performance that couldn’t be more different from his memorably unnerving turns in The Patient and Black Mirror, incoming Truth-Teller editor-in-chief Ned Sampson has a sort of aw-shucks, pre-Ozark-Jason-Bateman vibe.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Monologuing for an hour and a half is no walk in the park, but the genial A-lister tackles the task at hand with aw-shucks charisma and confidence.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
How Maye and his aw-shucks demeanor became a big-play bully in leading one of the game’s most prolific offenses.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But there was always more to Aydın than his aw-shucks dimples.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Viewers who know him only as the New Age-y inspirational author Ricken Hale on Severance will be suitably creeped out by how effectively Chernus slides from an aw-shucks, salt-of-the-earth type to an assessing predator manipulating his victims into a sense of safety.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
The aw-shucks routine appeared carefully calibrated to reinforce his core message, framing Republicans as the reasonable stewards of government being thwarted by extremist Democrats.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
Played by the versatile Domhnall Gleeson, in a performance that couldn’t be more different from his memorably unnerving turns in The Patient and Black Mirror, incoming Truth-Teller editor-in-chief Ned Sampson has a sort of aw-shucks, pre-Ozark-Jason-Bateman vibe.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Monologuing for an hour and a half is no walk in the park, but the genial A-lister tackles the task at hand with aw-shucks charisma and confidence.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aw-shucks
Adjective
-
The naive notion that America protects its own has remained largely intact, until the current administration declared that anyone who’s not with them is against them.—
Lorraine Ali,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
-
So like Dorthy Gale, Gail is a naive young girl from Kansas.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Mangione has pleaded innocent to federal and state murder charges; the state charges carry the possibility of life in prison.—
MICHAEL R. SISAK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Several right-wing social media figures and conservative commentators have also shared the video and suggested that Pretti was not an innocent bystander, but rather someone who was deliberately seeking confrontation.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In such a world, simple answers won’t do; only the courage to ask the hardest questions will push us forward.—
Daphne Koller,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Knox, who committed to wrestle at Rutgers University, and his dad were initially charged with simple assault for purposely/knowingly causing bodily injury after a brawl broke out at Collingswood High School on February.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aw-shucks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aw-shucks. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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