1
as in disrespectful
showing a lack of manners or consideration for others
it's rude to call someone "ugly"
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2
as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a rude shelter built from unfinished logs by some forgotten pioneer
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3
as in primitive
belonging to or characteristic of an early level of skill or development
rude stone tools
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4
as in crass
lacking in refinement or good taste
a comedian who uses a lot of rude language in his nightclub act
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5
as in barbarian
not civilized
missionaries who believed that it was their duty to convert the rude peoples of the world
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6
as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
rude hillbillies they might have been, but they produced music with real poignancy
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7
as in crude
being such as found in nature and not altered by processing or refining
rude pelts that were sent to Europe to be fashioned into elegant hats and coats
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rude
The other systems are even ruder.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Mayor Mamdani was wrong and frankly rude to skip Friday’s investiture of the new Catholic archbishop of New York, Ronald Hicks.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
The fancy men are very rude to Tristan, which is terrible manners and therefore very UN-fancy, but Charlotte likes him.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
While your absence might be less noticed, it is still considered rude to not show up without notifying the host.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rude
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Mayor Mamdani was wrong and frankly rude to skip Friday’s investiture of the new Catholic archbishop of New York, Ronald Hicks.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
The fancy men are very rude to Tristan, which is terrible manners and therefore very UN-fancy, but Charlotte likes him.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
While your absence might be less noticed, it is still considered rude to not show up without notifying the host.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rude
Adjective
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Still, the administration's support for glyphosate is disrespectful of the MAHA movement, said Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the advocacy nonprofit Environmental Working Group.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
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Veronique Yang, who leads BCG’s consumer practice in Greater China, said literal interpretations can come across as lazy or even disrespectful to Chinese consumers.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Lizzie McGuire made viewers feel seen because Duff was clumsy and awkward, falling into platters of spaghetti and getting dumped by her first boyfriend.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
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The tech driving my first clumsy steps included a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) and GPS sensors monitoring each ski’s position and the weight and angle of my heel.—
Kendall Hunter,
Outside,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And director Hammond doesn’t let the primitive miniseries technology defeat him.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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Their design was unpolished, even primitive, seemingly to convey a sense of slapdash amateurishness.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The vigil can come to look like voyeurism, the human care made crass.—
Megan Garber,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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Funny and silly without being crass or gross.—
Omar L. Gallaga,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Ashley Johnson and star/executive producer Travis Willingham tee up what's coming for their soft barbarian lady.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Oct. 2025
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Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Kudos to former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama for showing class and not responding to this insecure, ignorant symbol of racist hatred.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Walz said children fear aggressive agents; critics called the comparison ignorant and offensive.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Some do this flippantly, but reader Robin suggested drivers who do this do not care and are flat-out discourteous.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
11 Jan. 2026
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In 2014, he was found to have been discourteous and used force.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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First signs of rudimentary Valentine notes began appearing much later, in the 1500s, according to Britannica.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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The first is risk detection, which can be solved with more rudimentary machine learning.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rude. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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