earthy

[ur-thee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR earthy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, earth·i·er, earth·i·est.

of the nature of or consisting of earth or soil.

characteristic of earth: an earthy smell.

realistic; practical.

coarse or unrefined: an earthy sense of humor.

direct; robust; unaffected: an earthy, generous woman.

(of a mineral) having a dull luster and rough to the touch.

Archaic. worldly; pertaining to the earth.

Origin of earthy

First recorded in 1350–1400, earthy is from the Middle English word erthy. See earth, -y¹

Related formsearth·i·ly, adverbearth·i·ness, noun

Can be confusedearthly earthy (see synonym study at earthly)

Synonyms for earthy

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR earthy ON THESAURUS.COM

4. lusty, rough.

Antonyms for earthy

4. genteel, refined.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for earthiness

harshness, rawness, smut, roughness, ribaldry, indelicacy, unevenness, bawdiness, crudity, boorishness, callousness, offensiveness

Examples from the Web for earthiness

Contemporary Examples of earthiness

Outrageousness hums around these women, and an earthiness too: all have survived—and sometimes thrived from—their drama.
Streisand’s Gay Sex Problem, and the Death of the Gay Icon
Tim Teeman
May 23, 2014
Ryan explained: the citrus of Sauvignon Blanc plays off lemon and lime well, but the oak roped in the earthiness of the spinach.
The Secrets of Matchmaking
Katie Workman
August 11, 2009
It has an earthiness to it that pairs nicely with mushrooms or other earthy flavors, and it also works well with anything spicy.
The Official Beverage of France
Katie Workman
August 4, 2009

Historical Examples of earthiness

She was an Egeria who hovered above him, gently smiling at his earthiness.
The Confounding of Camelia
Anne Douglas Sedgwick
His passion is often impious in its earthiness; his yearning, sacrilege.
Paul Verlaine
Stefan Zweig
In spite of this earthiness, it still has its fanciful abstractions.
Socialism and Democracy in Europe
Samuel P. Orth
I do not really care how the naturalists maltreat language, but I do strenuously object to the earthiness of their ideas.
L-bas
J. K. Huysmans
They divest objects of their earthiness by bold simplifications, and transform reality into dreamland.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 3 (of 4)
Richard Muther

British Dictionary definitions for earthiness

earthy

adjective earthier or earthiest

of, composed of, or characteristic of earth

robust, lusty, or uninhibited

unrefined, coarse, or crude

an archaic word for worldly (def. 1)

electrical engineering on the earthed side of an electrical circuit, but not necessarily with a direct current connection to earth

Derived Formsearthily, adverbearthiness, 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

Word Origin and History for earthiness

earthy

adj.

1550s, from earth + -y (2). Figurative sense of "coarse, unrefined" is from 1590s. Related: Earthiness.