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
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Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
The pure of heart among you may recoil at the notion that anyone would sow brutish chaos, hurt vulnerable people and throw any semblance of democracy under the bus for a churlish, vicious distraction.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025
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
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
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
The pure of heart among you may recoil at the notion that anyone would sow brutish chaos, hurt vulnerable people and throw any semblance of democracy under the bus for a churlish, vicious distraction.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025
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
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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Entitled also makes a compelling case that Andrew is—to put it delicately—boorish and dim.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
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An exodus of prosecutors who didn’t care for his staff screaming sessions and boorish press conferences.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Trump's uncouth behavior barely rates a headline anymore, so frequent are the examples.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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Onscreen, Heathcliff has been represented over the years as a hunky-if-uncouth white man played by the likes of Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, and Ralph Fiennes.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Mays’ Salieri is at once aghast at such loutish behavior and bitterly envious that Mozart is exceptional enough to get away with it.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Vance’s tone was loutish in the distinctive, and tiresome, Trump way.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These people out here are stupid.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Mar. 2026
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Besides, each unmasking is stupid and anticlimactic in its own way.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The clownish dance is a Fortnite video game gesture, and involves making an L shape with fingers, pressing it to one’s forehead, then high kicking from side to side.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2026
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He’s best known at this point either for playing the clownish Jack on Will & Grace or for being the relatively serious one of the three celebrity chatters on his podcast, Smartless.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Communism, in its traditional definition, describes a system in which private property is abolished and the means of production are collectively owned, with the goal of creating a classless society.—
Cameron Schoppa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Louis Hartz maintained that the hegemony of liberal thought, with its vaunting of the classless individual, made Marxists politically superfluous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps surprisingly, the unfair pay and rude management didn’t trigger the most significant changes in attitude.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
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Whether a dish is tied to a long-standing family tradition, cultural heritage, or simply a treasured memory, etiquette experts say there’s nothing rude about choosing to keep certain recipes private.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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On Heavenly’s last record, released in 1996, their daydreamy idealism had become more vulgar and concrete, and the instrumental backing had adopted a Britpop punchiness to match; however, the album was released just after drummer Mathew Fletcher’s death, leading to Heavenly’s abrupt dissolution.—
Jude Noel,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
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In 2024, another former WISN-AM radio host, Jay Weber, was suspended for two weeks after posting vulgar comments about Walz's then-17-year-old neurodivergent son, Gus.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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