as in hick
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
though educated and sophisticated, the country singer always put on the facade of an amiable hayseed when in public
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Recent Examples of hayseed
Baby Billy’s first full-frontal scene is more a testament to Walton Goggins’s incredible hayseed bravado in the rule.
—
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025
The movie depicts Nashville as a town full of hayseeds who are bamboozled by the fast-talking Reynolds.
—Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 2 Feb. 2025
Mantle was the voluble hayseed from Oklahoma who could hit anything but was corrupted by the big city, and wound up undone by alcohol and knee injuries.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024
Today, the variety shows’ wise-clown hayseeds (overalls, prosthetic teeth, silly hats, no shoes) are the ones who get all the good lines, whose material is distinctive in its political sensibility and cultural hobbyhorses.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Grey Henson and Ashley D. Kelley as the gleeful Storytellers, Kevin Cahoon as a hayseed philosopher and Caroline Innerbichler as the requisite ingenue all joyfully indulge the cheeky, harmlessly off-color vibe.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2023
Sort of like how Axl Rose is some hayseed with chops like Chopin.
—Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 3 Aug. 2022
To share the workload, and also to teach him how to do everything, Jeremy brings on an uneducated 21-year-old blond hayseed named Kaleb who sports a series of increasingly dire haircuts as the series goes on.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 8 Aug. 2021
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025
The movie depicts Nashville as a town full of hayseeds who are bamboozled by the fast-talking Reynolds.
—Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 2 Feb. 2025
Mantle was the voluble hayseed from Oklahoma who could hit anything but was corrupted by the big city, and wound up undone by alcohol and knee injuries.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024
Today, the variety shows’ wise-clown hayseeds (overalls, prosthetic teeth, silly hats, no shoes) are the ones who get all the good lines, whose material is distinctive in its political sensibility and cultural hobbyhorses.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Grey Henson and Ashley D. Kelley as the gleeful Storytellers, Kevin Cahoon as a hayseed philosopher and Caroline Innerbichler as the requisite ingenue all joyfully indulge the cheeky, harmlessly off-color vibe.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2023
Sort of like how Axl Rose is some hayseed with chops like Chopin.
—Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 3 Aug. 2022
To share the workload, and also to teach him how to do everything, Jeremy brings on an uneducated 21-year-old blond hayseed named Kaleb who sports a series of increasingly dire haircuts as the series goes on.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 8 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hayseed
Noun
-
Without so many of the fears, complexes, and prejudices hick shaped us in the ‘90s and the ‘00s.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
20 June 2025
-
Sorrentino may also be exorcising some conflicting feelings about his birthplace, which is portrayed as a vulgar, crude place populated by crooks and hicks and photographed like its paradise.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
It was adapted into a huge hit movie starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, but the breakout characters were local yokels Ma and Pa Kettle, who went on to star in eight spinoff movies.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
-
To the yokel who makes his donations in cash and is proud of himself for knowing what LEO stands for.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 June 2025
Noun
-
Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
-
Going to the Ron Burgundy–Ricky Bobby idiot well one time too many, Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a lazy, cynical longtime congressman running against a local bumpkin (Galifianakis).—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Her character is a peasant who, around the midway mark, gives an inspiring speech to her granddaughter, Afra (Wardi Eilabuni).—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Slaves, serfs, peasants, and wage workers mostly understood that what was being struck was a hammer blow on their behalf.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sanders is a Catholic priest and former Augustinian provincial in California and lives in the Augustinian community in North Park.—
Gary Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2025
-
The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order.—
Caitlin McFall,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As for partisan rubes like Senator Van Hollen, Maryland can do better.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2025
-
There was no quintessential American, so Twain imagined him: a wily rube, cynical toward the same refinements of Europe that inspired awe in him.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
The sheriff threatens to arrest Morticia on account of aiding and abetting a murderer, but Gomez points out that these clowns (the cops) abandoned Nevermore to protect Normies at Pilgrim World.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
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While the film wasn't a hit with critics or audiences, Gaga nonetheless had some eye-popping looks on the press tour, sporting bold red hair and clown-like attire to evoke the comic chaos of her character.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Inspired by Crow’s time performing at Colorado ski lodges—think Gothic-meets-rustic with stone archways, vaulted ceilings, and walls of glass—the estate contains a whopping 10 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
15 Aug. 2025
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And don’t struggle between the shrimp and cheddar grits in Louisiana gravy and the rustic smoked 44 Farms brisket hash—just give in and order both.—
Rebecca Deurlein,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hayseed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hayseed. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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