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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Example Sentences
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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
Bradford sends her off to Alaska, instructing her on how to manipulate Frank, who everybody assumes is a rube.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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
Bradford sends her off to Alaska, instructing her on how to manipulate Frank, who everybody assumes is a rube.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for rube
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rube
Noun
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Ricky develops romantic feelings for Chad even though Russ plays him as a soft-spoken, possibly dim rural hick who may well be a literal man-child.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Without so many of the fears, complexes, and prejudices hick shaped us in the ‘90s and the ‘00s.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
20 June 2025
Noun
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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
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Former Des Plaines officer Mike Albrecht recalled to NBC Chicago that when police were assigned to surveil Gacy after Piest's disappearance, the part-time clown would try to pal around with officers and invite them into his house.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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The girls are just as down to clown, coming up with funny drunk poses and faces.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
17 Oct. 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
-
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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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
Noun
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In those intervening 35 years, China had moved 800 million rural peasants — living in extreme poverty on US$2 a day — into city apartments and integrated them into the global economy.—
Peter Leyden,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
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More than two million peasant families were given land.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 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 23 Oct. 2025.
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