Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective churlish differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of churlish are boorish, clownish, and loutish. While all these words mean "uncouth in manners or appearance," churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

When can boorish be used instead of churlish?

Although the words boorish and churlish have much in common, boorish implies rudeness of manner due to insensitiveness to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable.

a drunk's boorish behavior

When might clownish be a better fit than churlish?

In some situations, the words clownish and churlish are roughly equivalent. However, clownish suggests ill-bred awkwardness, ignorance or stupidity, ungainliness, and often a propensity for absurd antics.

an adolescent's clownish conduct

In what contexts can loutish take the place of churlish?

The synonyms loutish and churlish are sometimes interchangeable, but loutish implies bodily awkwardness together with stupidity.

a loutish oaf

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of churlish Asked about these comments, and responding to them, Tiger himself was churlish. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 18 July 2024 Furthermore, Mody’s dismissal of India’s developmental gains in the three decades since liberalization comes across as churlish. Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2023 And churlish is exactly how Trump wants to portray him. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 19 Jan. 2024 In fact, one of the clips from Trump’s speech on Saturday which got the most coverage was his mockery of Biden’s stutter: a churlish—and, no doubt, premeditated—slur. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for churlish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churlish
Adjective
  • Intention and accidents, theft and boorish behavior: it all gets folded into the myth-serving lore.
    Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
  • MacFarlane will continue to provide the voice of Ted — a teddy bear brought to life by a boy’s wish, now grown up and bearing the hallmarks of a boorish Seth MacFarlane character.
    Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Shawn wrestles without any grace here, his normal perfection replaced by him furiously trying to prevent the inevitable passing of the torch moment to Steve Austin, who himself is naturally uncouth in the ring.
    Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
  • President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s wheelchair was famously hidden from the public, though his ailment was not necessarily a secret, just considered uncouth to talk about.
    Haisten Willis, The Washington Examiner, 12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This was like loutish English tourists turning up unannounced and urinating in the holy water.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • 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
  • Not just on the training pitch but in the dorm rooms, talking about the future and giggling at stupid jokes.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 21 May 2025
  • President Donald Trump said only stupid people would refuse a $400 million gift.
    Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • In the mountains of Papua New Guinea, researchers encountered a clownish creature perched on a log in a fern meadow, basking in the sun.
    Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The suit also paints a clownish portrait of the entrepreneur, portraying him as pompous, shameless, and untrustworthy.
    Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But, for not a single D to stand to applaud a boy's brave battle with cancer, or a man's admission to West Point, was a classless disgrace.
    Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Communism, on the other hand, advocates for a classless society where all property is communally owned.
    H. Sami Karaca, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Proctor sent a series of rude, lewd and unprofessional text messages about Read and the investigation, which led to his firing.
    Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
  • There was also a three-homer game for Pablo Sandoval in the 2012 World Series, but it’s considered rude to talk about that in 2025.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • In that sense, the vulgar Vader situation creates a touchy dilemma for Epic Games and Disney, which likely invested substantially in this high-profile collaboration.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 16 May 2025
  • Amid the attention, the new pontiff's eldest brother has drawn scrutiny for social media posts praising Trump and using inflammatory, vulgar rhetoric toward Democrats and transgender people.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!