as in bumpkin
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
city dwellers who looked down on their cousins from northern Maine as hicks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hickish
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unsophisticated
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of hick
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2025
In first grade, when a teacher called him a hick, Ciotti threw an inkwell at her.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for hick
Noun
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
In first grade, when a teacher called him a hick, Ciotti threw an inkwell at her.
—D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
Allen’s enduring affection for Keaton is as evident on the page as his insistence that Los Angeles (where Keaton was born and raised) is a hick town.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for hick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hick
Noun
-
Simply put, the small-town bumpkins from North Florida who support this idea should be made to pay for it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This sort of behavior is childish and unsophisticated.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
And Blackstone is not an unsophisticated hotel owner.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Part of his way of taking it yokel — besides bringing in Foo Fighter Rami Jaffee on accordion and Willie Aron blowing harmonica — was to add a previously unheard yodel to the chorus.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
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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
Adjective
-
The report marks the first year Berkshire’s annual letter to shareholders wasn’t penned by Buffett, 95, whose folksy financial wisdom was a must-read for many investors.—
Auzinea Bacon,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Gayner is an unabashed acolyte of the Berkshire way of doing things, right down to his company's portfolio of long-term investments in the stock market and a folksy apathy for quarterly earnings reports.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a long tradition of artists and activists using their platforms to take issue with the reactionary politics of their parents.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
-
And Land, in recent years, has reëmerged as one of the most influential reactionary thinkers of our time.—
James Duesterberg,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Using his Hollywood makeup father’s prosthetics, Holliday transforms himself into hayseed-like Chad Powers.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Timed to coincide with Cactus League spring training, the countrified Innings Fest offshoot is in its third year, bringing 20 artists with no overlapping sets to two main stages.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
26 Feb. 2026
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The look blended ornate embroidery with a Western spin, merging high fashion with Wilson’s countrified finesse.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
17 Nov. 2025
Noun
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That set-up makes Cole relatively unique among prediction markets’ headliners, many of whom are suspected of exploiting insider info to dupe rubes for short-term gains.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Harry would be right to be bitter; Sally’s optimism was for rubes.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
17 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hick. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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