raw

[ raw ]

adjective

, raw·er, raw·est.

1. uncooked, as articles of food:

   a raw carrot.

2. not having undergone processes of preparing, dressing, finishing, refining, or manufacture:

   raw cotton.

   Synonyms: unprepared, makeshift, rough

3. unnaturally or painfully exposed, as flesh, by removal of the skin or natural integument.
4. painfully open, as a sore or wound.
5. crude in quality or character; not tempered or refined by art or taste:

   raw humor.

6. ignorant, inexperienced, or untrained:

   a raw recruit.

   Synonyms: undisciplined, unpracticed, unskilled, green

7. brutally or grossly frank:

   a raw portrayal of human passions.

8. brutally harsh or unfair:

   a raw deal; receiving raw treatment from his friends.

9. disagreeably damp and chilly, as the weather or air:

   a raw, foggy day at the beach.

   Synonyms: wet, cold

10. not diluted, as alcoholic spirits:

    raw whiskey.

    Synonyms: neat, straight

11. unprocessed or unevaluated:

    raw data.

noun

1. a sore or irritated place, as on the flesh.
2. unrefined sugar, oil, etc.

raw

/ rɔː /

adjective

1. (of food) not cooked

   raw onion

2. prenominal in an unfinished, natural, or unrefined state; not treated by manufacturing or other processes

   raw materials for making steel

   raw brick

3. (of an edge of material) unhemmed; liable to fray
4. (of the skin, a wound, etc) having the surface exposed or abraded, esp painfully
5. ignorant, inexperienced, or immature

   a raw recruit

6. prenominal not selected or modified

   raw statistics

7. frank or realistic

   a raw picture of the breakdown of a marriage

8. (of spirits) undiluted
9. coarse, vulgar, or obscene
10. recently done; fresh

    raw paintwork

11. (of the weather) harshly cold and damp
12. informal.
    unfair; unjust (esp in the phrase a raw deal )

noun

1. the raw informal.
   a sensitive point

   his criticism touched me on the raw

2. in the raw
   1. without clothes; naked
   2. in a natural or unmodified state

      life in the raw

Derived Forms

• ˈrawly, adverb
• ˈrawness, noun
• ˈrawish, adjective

Other Words From

• rawish adjective
• rawish·ness noun
• rawly adverb
• rawness noun
• half-raw adjective
• semi·raw adjective
• semi·rawly adverb
• semi·rawness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of raw¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hrēaw, hrǣw; cognate with Dutch rauw, German roh; akin to Latin crūdus “raw” ( crude ), cruor “blood,” Greek kréas “raw flesh” ( creatine )

Word History and Origins

Origin of raw¹

Old English hreaw ; related to Old High German hrao , Old Norse hrār raw, Latin cruor thick blood, Greek kreas meat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the raw,
   1. in the natural, uncultivated, or unrefined state:

      nature in the raw.

   2. Informal. in the nude; naked:

      sunbathing in the raw.

More idioms and phrases containing raw

In addition to the idiom beginning with raw , also see in the altogether (raw) .

Synonym Study

Raw, crude, rude refer to something not in a finished or highly refined state. Raw applies particularly to material not yet changed by a process, by manufacture, or by preparation for consumption: raw cotton; raw leather. Crude refers to that which still needs refining: crude petroleum. Rude refers to what is still in a condition of rough simplicity or in a makeshift or roughly made form: rude agricultural implements; the rude bridge that arched the flood.

Example Sentences

Raw eel seemed to be popular during and after the Middle Ages.

From The Daily Beast

The script would be used as more than just raw material, but would need to be fudged.

From The Daily Beast

The raw materials— tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold—were dubbed “conflict minerals.”

From The Daily Beast

But there was a lot of raw violence in the humor of the time.

From The Daily Beast

But the raw believability of, say, Magnum photography has been done for.

From The Daily Beast

It makes out of the savage raw material which is our basal mental stuff, a citizen.

From Project Gutenberg

It had come on to rain, and the raw dampness mingled itself with the dusky uproar of the Strand.

From Project Gutenberg

The evening was cold and raw and so dark that it was almost impossible to distinguish people on the badly lighted little platform.

From Project Gutenberg

This problem was solved by a native coming along driving a raw-boned horse before a rickety wagon.

From Project Gutenberg

The comparison of the cost of production, therefore, with the value of the raw material, shows a very large margin of profit.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• basic
• coarse
• crude
• fresh
• natural
• organic
• rough
• uncooked
• undercooked
• unprocessed
• untreated