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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

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective crude differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of crude are raw, rough, and rude. While all these words mean "lacking in social refinement," crude may apply to thought or behavior limited to the gross, the obvious, or the primitive.

a crude joke

When could raw be used to replace crude?

In some situations, the words raw and crude are roughly equivalent. However, raw suggests being untested, inexperienced, or unfinished.

turning raw youths into polished performers

When would rough be a good substitute for crude?

The words rough and crude can be used in similar contexts, but rough is likely to stress lack of polish and gentleness.

rough manners

When might rude be a better fit than crude?

The synonyms rude and crude are sometimes interchangeable, but rude implies ignorance of or indifference to good form; it may suggest intentional discourtesy.

rude behavior

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 crude Last December, Reliance Industries signed a deal to import crude oil worth $12 billion-$13 billion a year from Russia’s Rosneft for 10 years, which would translate to roughly 500,000 barrels per day, according to a report by Reuters. Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025 Still, the script has a crude competence. Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 Price contends the Jameson portion of the USGS report is outdate and inaccurate, pointing to a much more recent 2025 third-party review from Sproule ERCE energy consultants that estimates the Jameson basin could hold 9 billion net barrels of recoverable crude oil. Jordan Blum, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025 The decision will have sizable implications for India’s energy sector, with Russia making up about 34 percent of crude oil imports. Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 22 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crude
Adjective
  • Crossing the Tibetan Plateau, my grandmother came upon great caravans miles long, and the muleteers offered her slices of raw yak meat.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Now nearing 100 performances, Boujee on a Budget is propelled by Mathews’ raw storytelling, southern wit, and unfiltered perspective on life as a gay man navigating small-town Alabama.
    Dave Brooks, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The range of the monster drawings included primitive people, giant spiders, serpents, snails and fantastical fish.
    Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Will there be future fairy tales about birds whose feathers glow in the dark nesting in the ruins of primitive power plants of past ages?
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • One room cracked up at a vulgar joke about a woman’s behind, while another went for an outrageous and surreal midfilm montage — but each bit was made genuinely funnier by the dozens of people gasping and wheezing over it.
    Robert Rubsam, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Each project presented at MIA is picked with a genuine desire for these works to come to the fore, not by crass commercial considerations.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Free speech covers the jokes, the satire, the parodies—even the dumb, crass, or offensive ones.
    Lizz Winstead, Time, 27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Even the basic details of the situation can sound like the clumsy plot of some apocalyptic thriller.
    Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
  • An exceptionally clumsy device.
    Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This groundbreaking method could transform the way researchers study complex diseases, including cancer, without disrupting natural cellular processes.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The large-mouthed sharks end up hoovering in some of this natural debris.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • His clips are pretty rudimentary tributes to guys like Thomas Sankara, the former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, shouting them out with highlight reels and songs by 100 gecs and Jersey club collective TwerkNation28.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Adelman has no intention of limiting the Lithuanian center to such a rudimentary style, though.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Beside one of those blandly obscene bidets.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But the show avoided an FCC probe as the West Coast delay was censored, and the East Coast broadcast aired after the 6am-10pm window during which obscene content is prohibited on broadcast TV and radio.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Crude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crude. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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