ill-mannered

American  

[il-man-erd] / ˈɪlˈmæn ərd /

adjective

1. having bad or poor manners; impolite; discourteous; rude.

   Synonyms:

   uncivil, crude, unpolished

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ill-mannered British  

adjective

1. having bad manners; rude; impolite

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Other Word Forms

• ill-manneredness
  noun
• ill-manneredly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ill-mannered

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at ill, mannered

Explanation

Someone who's ill-mannered is rude. It would be ill-mannered to show up an hour late to your cousin's wedding reception with a carful of your (uninvited) friends. If you act in an impolite, ungracious, or discourteous way, you'll be thought of as ill-mannered. It's ill-mannered to cut in front of people in line, to take a subway seat where an elderly person was getting ready to sit, or to invite everyone in your class except one person to your birthday party. Ill-mannered adds the prefix ill-, "badly," to mannered, "having manners," from manner, "way of doing things."

Example Sentences

Ill-mannered catcalls greeted the Russian and Japanese entries, and Britain's Pardao went off at 108-to-1 odds.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ill-mannered booby! is this the way you treat the prince, who is to be our king?

From The Boys' And Girls' Library by Various

"Ill-mannered varlet!" thought the old man; "but what can they be a-wanting with our Dummy?"

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by Roby, John

Ill-mannered infant,” the King said, with bitter laughter, “it is now necessary that I summon my attendants and remove you to a nursery which I have prepared in England.”

From Chivalry by Cabell, James Branch