churlish

[ chur-lish ]

See synonyms for: churlish churlishness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

like a churl; boorish; rude: churlish behavior.
of a churl; peasantlike.

stingy; mean.
difficult to work or deal with, as soil.

Origin of churlish

Before 1000; Middle English cherlish, Old English ceorlisc. See churl, -ish¹

Other words for churlish

1	coarse, uncouth, vulgar, loutish; ill-natured, uncivil

See synonyms for churlish on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for churlish

courteous

See antonyms for churlish on Thesaurus.com

Other words from churlish

churl·ish·ly, adverb
churl·ish·ness, noun
un·churl·ish, adjective
un·churl·ish·ly, adverb
un·churl·ish·ness, noun

Words Nearby churlish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use churlish in a sentence

Honestly, aside from a rather churlish crow named Mango, you’d be surprised at just how crafty birds can be!
Even more proof that crows are terrifyingly smart | PopSci Staff | November 10, 2021 | Popular-Science
Celebrating the occult and otherworldly just one day a year seems churlish and unwholesome, especially when the occult is around us every day.
Boo! Spooky Cocktails Inspired by the Occult | Wayne Curtis | October 29, 2021 | The Daily Beast
And yet, by the end of the night, it felt churlish to complain.
Monty Python Forgot Their Lines on Opening Night, but Who Cares? | Nico Hines | July 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Christmas is a season of marvelous and mystical experiences, and maybe it seems churlish to let science and history intrude.
Vatican Science on Christmas and Creationism | Christopher Dickey | December 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
For the moment it seems churlish to knock an innocuous little history for its essential brevity and its inevitable lacunae.
John Sutherland‘s Enjoyable Little History of Literature | Malcolm Forbes | November 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

My friends all seemed to drool over churlish boy-band types.
Sugar Daddy Dating Sites: Helen Croydon on Her Guilty Fantasy | Helen Croydon | May 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
His churlish attack created a media storm that the Republican Party got dragged into and which has hurt the image of the party.
The Real Problem with Sandra Fluke (Hint: It has Nothing to Do with her Sex Life) | Noah Kristula-Green | March 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
With a churlish gesture the old man pushed the bread over toward her and with hesitating, trembling fingers she reached for it.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | John Fox, Jr.
The lover has no share in this churlish anger: his heart is not capable of offending you.
Amphitryon | Moliere
It seemed churlish, too, not to join in the chorus; and by and by the whole meeting was singing with a will.
Wandering Heath | Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
He was stirred to stinging invective of the churlish priest of Saint-Sulpice, who denied her church-burial.
The Stones of Paris in History and Letters, Volume I (of 2) | Benjamin Ellis Martin
A finer weapon wherewith to strike at a churlish world was never given into the hands of man.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete | George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for churlish

churlish

/ (ˈtʃɜːlɪʃ) /

adjective

rude or surly
of or relating to peasants

miserly

Derived forms of churlish

churlishly, adverb
churlishness, noun

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

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