1
as in raw
being such as found in nature and not altered by processing or refining
a sizable spill of crude oil along a coastline is the worst kind of environmental disaster
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in primitive
belonging to or characteristic of an early level of skill or development
the crude stone tools that those prehistoric peoples used
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3
as in vulgar
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
crude jokes can be considered sexual harassment
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in crass
lacking in refinement or good taste
any discussion of one's money is considered crude by the club's blue-blooded members
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5
as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a crude hut that was constructed by some shipwrecked sailors
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crude
Adjective
-
Eating even a small amount can be fatal, and experts warn that a mushroom's color is not a reliable way of detecting its toxicity, and whether the death cap variety is raw, dried or cooked does not make a difference.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026 -
Instead of treating touch as a simple raw pressure input, the system uses neuromorphic encoding (modeled from biological nerves) to translate force into rapid electrical spikes.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Initially, these are very primitive – buy coffee, take a photo of a receipt in a cafe.—
Daria Tarasova-Markina,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Later on, as some of the brightest extended objects visible with even the most primitive of telescopes, planetary nebulae are numerous and prominent in the catalogues of astronomers, with the first ones spotted way back in the 1700s.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When authorities asked King to remove the breast banner as vulgar, King taped over the nipples with stars made of tape or Magic Marker.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Sarah, the former Duchess of York, also sent emails to Epstein which included a vulgar mention of Eugenie, who had not yet turned 20 at the time, People reported.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
While crass and lazy, the moniker did at least have a link to reality at a time when her male counterpart was excelling.—
Adam Leventhal,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Zamiri aims to send up the crass monetization of a cultural boom, turning up the film’s absurdity knob to highlight the very real ways in which record labels and other corporate interests attach themselves vampirically to artistic success.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Isabel, sitting in a driving-range stall, is nearly hit with a ball when a clumsy golfer clangs it off a metal railing.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The results are often enervating though sometimes clumsy.—
Eli Enis,
Pitchfork,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Over half were additives typically added to ultraprocessed foods; the rest were more natural options, such as the use of lemon juice as a preservative or beet juice for color.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Moving to Charlotte has opened the door to the incredible natural beauty the Carolinas are known for — the mountains, lakes, forests and everything in between.—
Shindy Chen
February 10,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
However, the basic formation of training sets—the systematic classification of images—still relies on startlingly rudimentary, tedious, and time-intensive microtasks performed by precarious workers.—
Farren Fei Yuan,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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Stanton treats the exchange in such rudimentary, flat fashion that any connection between us and the character is lost.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Weiner pled guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor in 2017 and spent 15 months in federal prison for the crime.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Texas Tech’s student section directed an obscene chant at Kansas’ Darryn Peterson as the freshman guard prepared to shoot a free throw late in the first half of the Jayhawks’ 64-61 victory over the Red Raiders on Monday night at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Crude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crude. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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