crude

[krood]

adjective

cruder, crudest 

1. in a raw or unprepared state; unrefined or natural.

   crude sugar.

   Synonyms: coarse, unfinished
   Antonyms: refined

2. lacking in intellectual subtlety, perceptivity, etc.; rudimentary; undeveloped.

3. lacking finish, polish, or completeness.

   a crude summary.

4. lacking culture, refinement, tact, etc..

   crude behavior.

   Synonyms: clumsy, coarse, rude, rough, uncouth
   Antonyms: refined

5. undisguised; blunt.

   a crude answer.

6. Obsolete.,  unripe; not mature.

noun

1. crude oil.

crude

/ kruːd /

adjective

1. lacking taste, tact, or refinement; vulgar

   a crude joke

2. in a natural or unrefined state

3. lacking care, knowledge, or skill

   a crude sketch

4. (prenominal) stark; blunt

   the crude facts

5. (of statistical data) unclassified or unanalysed

6. archaic,  unripe

noun

1. short for crude oil

Other Word Forms

• crudity noun
• crudely adverb
• crudeness noun
• uncrude adjective
• uncrudeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crude¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin crūdus “uncooked, raw, bleeding, rough,” akin to cruor “blood from a wound”; raw

Word History and Origins

Origin of crude¹

C14: from Latin crūdus bloody, raw; related to Latin cruor blood

Synonym Study

See raw.

Example Sentences

All were drawn to the region by its juicy tax deals, deep-water Gulf Coast port and latticework of pipelines that ferry cheap natural gas and crude oil.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

You can’t tariff your way out of dependency when your own refineries are designed to process heavy Canadian crude.

Read more on MarketWatch

While Russia has been able to shuffle its crude oil and refined products around economic sanctions, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure could limit Russian supply and lead to a relatively tighter market, he says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

U.S. crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week amid an increase in production and imports, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

PARIS—French authorities detained crew members of a tanker carrying Russian crude oil and are investigating whether it played a role in last week’s drone incursions in Denmark.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• amateurish 
• coarse 
• harsh 
• homemade 
• makeshift 
• primitive 
• raw 
• rude 
• rudimentary 
• simple 
• unprocessed