Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

underbred

American  
[uhn-der-bred] / ˌʌn dərˈbrɛd /

adjective

  1. having inferior breeding or manners; vulgar.

  2. not of pure breed, as a horse.


underbred British  
/ ˌʌndəˈbrɛd /

adjective

  1. of impure stock; not thoroughbred

  2. a less common word for ill-bred

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of underbred

First recorded in 1640–50; under- + bred


Vocabulary lists containing underbred

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“It is underbred, not only in the obvious sense, but in the literary sense.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

For the others he had expected to find very second-rate types, possibly overdressed, certainly underbred; forward and gushing or awkwardly shy.

From The Red Derelict by Bertram Mitford

Mrs. Smythe’s abrupt remark jarred upon them, and simultaneously it occurred to them that she was distinctly underbred.

From The Automobile Girls at Palm Beach Proving Their Mettle Under Southern Skies by Laura Dent Crane

Why, on top of her experience of bearleading a brace of utterly uninteresting and unengaging children—and being at the beck and call of their detestable underbred mother, this was ideal.

From The Heath Hover Mystery by Bertram Mitford

But these reformers are apt to be underbred, irritable, with nasty peculiarities of habits and manner which they never have thought it worth while to cure.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877. by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com