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
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of hick
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
One is a sick herb; the other is a hick Serb.
—Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021
D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
In the special, taped at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, Kober brings audiences together with stories about dealing with hometown hicks, unforgiving fruit flies and California candy cartels.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for hick
Noun
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
Adjective
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
In the special, taped at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, Kober brings audiences together with stories about dealing with hometown hicks, unforgiving fruit flies and California candy cartels.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for hick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hick
Noun
-
Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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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
Adjective
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For Candy, getting to play the unsophisticated traveling salesman, a big man like himself, gave him an opportunity to showcase both his flair for broad comedy and, for the first time onscreen, his innate vulnerability.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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And there’s been this story that retail investors are unsophisticated.—
Fortune Editors,
Fortune,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Adjective
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Known for his trademark cowboy hat and folksy charisma, Phillips led with authenticity, loyalty, and a deep belief in his players.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
15 Oct. 2025
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As darkness fell, Price, sometimes with a guitar and sometimes a tambourine and sometimes just the mic, served as a fun bridge between the rootsy afternoon sound and the both increasingly folksy Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Dave Matthews (and Tim Reynolds) and John Mellencamp.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The reactionary league is constantly futzing after other versions of the sport implement fun rules, or promising to address unfairness when sensational NFL playoff battles have ended without a quarterback deity such as Peyton Manning or Josh Allen touching the ball.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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That Watson hasn’t used these moments of victimhood to become reactionary is part of what seems to anger Rowling.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Using his Hollywood makeup father’s prosthetics, Holliday transforms himself into hayseed-like Chad Powers.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
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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
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The look embraced subtle elements that still echoed a countrified sensibility, on par with ongoing interest in Western trends and the country core aesthetic.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
20 Oct. 2025
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What began as a simple countrified version of a John Mayer song turned into something else entirely when Von Elbe suddenly busted out this terrific rock voice, proving himself an unpredictable threat in this competition.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As for partisan rubes like Senator Van Hollen, Maryland can do better.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Hick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hick. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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