as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a TV producer who knew what the unwashed masses wanted—and unhesitatingly gave it to them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
Aunt Edna was fond of snootily reminding us that we need not take our manners from the great unwashed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unwashed
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 21 Apr. 2025
Wash them just before using them but be sure to store them unwashed.
—Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2025
The brainwashed can’t conceive of themselves as brainwashed; to do so would indicate that the brain remains unwashed.
—Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Refrigerate unwashed, in plastic bag in refrigerator crisper drawer generally up to 7 days.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Adjective
Besides his unwashed look, Cyrus has become embroiled in various scandals in recent years and is supposedly struggling to get work, according to the Daily Mail.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 21 Apr. 2025
Wash them just before using them but be sure to store them unwashed.
—Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2025
The brainwashed can’t conceive of themselves as brainwashed; to do so would indicate that the brain remains unwashed.
—Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Refrigerate unwashed, in plastic bag in refrigerator crisper drawer generally up to 7 days.
—Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwashed
Adjective
-
The company attributed that to a decrease in full-price wholesale and lower e-commerce sales.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
8 Aug. 2025
-
The sheriff’s office said it was tipped off that Hendon was selling new appliances via social media for unusually low prices.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2024
-
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
20 June 2022
Noun
-
There was little-to-no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side were going to defeat Ralf Rangnick’s under-interim-management rabble that day.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
-
Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
The film stars Mark Feuerstein as Rabbi Mo, a humble leader in a high-desert Jewish community who is thrust into the role of reluctant warrior after a violent attack shakes his world.—
Eric E. Harrison,
Arkansas Online,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Chelsea may go into the new Premier League campaign wearing a gold badge on their shirts that marks them out as reigning world champions after their triumph in the United States last month but, internally, the message from the club hierarchy is to stay humble and keep working.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a practical benefit to this, along with the synthetics’ super-strength; a story about aliens let loose on a vulnerable human populace would likely have to be a short one.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Aug. 2025
-
The broader populace is still seeing pay gains outpace inflation (although to a lesser extent than recent years).—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Across the lake, on the plebeian side, up the shoreline a mile or so, in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, stand twin 32-story towers dubbed Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
In pushing ahead with this plan, Netanyahu is going against the wishes of much of the Israeli public and even key voices in the military.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Constructed in 1913, the hotel helped introduce the American public to rock ‘n’ roll music.—
Korrin Bishop,
Southern Living,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Somehow, this respectable foe of radicalism had organized the political realignment that broke up the Union, sustained the war that overthrew the South’s ruling class, and managed the struggle that emancipated its proletariat.—
Matthew Karp,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
-
As is the case with the aesthetics of people, exquisite lines can be found on patrician and proletariat cars alike.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwashed. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share