as in boorish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners
it would be churlish for any dinner guest to express anything but gratitude for his host's generous hospitality
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Recent Examples of churlish
The churlish comments appeared to have come from conservative activists, or from bots on social media that generate partisan messages, still chafing that Burrows ascended to the speaker's desk with the support of more Democratic House members than Republicans.
—
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
And refusing to congratulate his SIL is just churlish.
—Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 21 June 2025
Marty, meanwhile, hollow-eyed and churlish about straying from their objective, seems haunted with guilt after a recent stint in jail for setting a building on fire.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
And refusing to congratulate his SIL is just churlish.
—Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 21 June 2025
Marty, meanwhile, hollow-eyed and churlish about straying from their objective, seems haunted with guilt after a recent stint in jail for setting a building on fire.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churlish
Adjective
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Kimmel, like Stephen Colbert, went from acting as boorish right-wing caricatures to playing themselves — that is, liberals who dislike Trump and support vaccines.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Depicting Americans as arrogant, loud, boorish and demeaning of other cultures, the term has stuck and is still mentioned 60-plus years later.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Every unflattering photo and uncouth inside joke will come to light.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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But a significant number of comments had very little to do with the content itself; instead, viewers made uncouth remarks about the teenager's appearance.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This was like loutish English tourists turning up unannounced and urinating in the holy water.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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And Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in 2013 at age 51, was the show’s tempestuous soul, playing a loutish killer with a quick temper and sad eyes.—
Chris Vognar,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And that’s a stupid, dumb, mindless question.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
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Dessert Week is the stupidest week, at least conceptually.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Those long familiar with Pratt’s clownish agent-of-chaos persona both onscreen and on their social feeds may find his latest role disorienting.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
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The combo together ensures that the lip doesn't look clownish.—
Sarah Hoffmann,
Allure,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Matty isn’t quite so classless this week.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
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This type of behavior by Mayor Hammoud was uncalled for, classless, unprofessional and just plain wrong.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Combined with not intervening too often, this will minimize the number of rude responses.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Who decides what’s decorous and what’s vulgar?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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