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
Bridgeman doesn’t speak with arrogance but with a calm, aw-shucks confidence.
—
Brody Miller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
So far, the closest person the 2020s have to fill that slot is Glen Powell, a native of the Lone Star State blessed with a smile that melts butter and and aw-shucks amiability.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
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
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
Brody Miller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
So far, the closest person the 2020s have to fill that slot is Glen Powell, a native of the Lone Star State blessed with a smile that melts butter and and aw-shucks amiability.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
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
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 first is Jonathan Harker, naïve English solicitor despatched to Transylvania to do a deal with a mysterious Count whose plan is to dip his fangs into Victorian England.—
Demetrios Matheou,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Winning by rallying the naïve and clueless is one thing, but administering a throbbing behemoth is a greater challenge.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
As if the wide-eyed innocent who arrived here has been hardened.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Other concerns, Corrado notes, include the chance that an extremely sensitive DNA test could generate a DNA profile of someone who was never at a crime scene but whose DNA was transferred there by a family member or through other innocent means.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That simple sentiment distills what being a Louisianan is about.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
No doubt history would be very different if a citizen’s duty was simple obeyance.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aw-shucks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aw-shucks. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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