as in hick
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
rural voters were tired of being treated as rubes by state officials, who showed interest in them only at election time
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Recent Examples of rube
The rubes in the trad lobby have been snookered—though their final betrayal is yet to come.
—
Ian Volner, Artforum, 28 May 2025
Walsh’s male fantasists—the nameless rubes of Ballyturk, the desperate suitors of Penelope, even the heartbroken father at the center of Grief Is the Thing With Feathers—get to strut and bluster and scream into the wind.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
Like master poker players sitting at a table with rubes, Wall Street’s quants and algorithmic traders like Citadel not only profit from Robinhood's customers' trades, but use the large amount of retail trading data from these purchases to anticipate market moves and profit.
—Javier Paz, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2025
That’s easy: a rube, chump, or mark, whose naive optimism sets them up for betrayal.
—Jamil Zaki, TIME, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rube
Ian Volner, Artforum, 28 May 2025
Walsh’s male fantasists—the nameless rubes of Ballyturk, the desperate suitors of Penelope, even the heartbroken father at the center of Grief Is the Thing With Feathers—get to strut and bluster and scream into the wind.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
Like master poker players sitting at a table with rubes, Wall Street’s quants and algorithmic traders like Citadel not only profit from Robinhood's customers' trades, but use the large amount of retail trading data from these purchases to anticipate market moves and profit.
—Javier Paz, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2025
That’s easy: a rube, chump, or mark, whose naive optimism sets them up for betrayal.
—Jamil Zaki, TIME, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rube
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rube
Noun
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Without so many of the fears, complexes, and prejudices hick shaped us in the ‘90s and the ‘00s.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
20 June 2025
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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
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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
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order.—
Caitlin McFall,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rube.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rube. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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