hewn

[ hyoon or, often, yoon ]

/ hyun or, often, yun /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hewn ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

felled and roughly shaped by hewing: hewn logs.

given a rough surface: hewn stone.

Nearby words

hew, hewers of wood and drawers of water, hewish, hewitt, hewlett, hewn, hex, hex sign, hex., hexa-, hexabasic

Origin of hewn

1300–50; Middle English hewen, past participle of hew

Related formsun·hewn, adjectivewell-hewn, adjective

Definition for hewn (2 of 2)

hew

[ hyoo or, often, yoo ]

/ hyu or, often, yu /

verb (used with object), hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.

to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.

to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows: to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.

to sever (a part) from a whole by means of cutting blows (usually followed by away, off, out, from, etc.): to hew branches from the tree.

to cut down; fell: to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.

verb (used without object), hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.

to strike with cutting blows; cut: He hewed more vigorously each time.

to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed by to): to hew to the tenets of one's political party.

Origin of hew

before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle

SYNONYMS FOR hew

2 form.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hew ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshew·a·ble, adjectivehew·er, nounun·hew·a·ble, adjectiveun·hewed, adjective

Can be confusedhew hue Hugh

Synonym study

1. See cut.

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

Examples from the Web for hewn

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down.
Keep Christmas Commercialized!|P. J. O’Rourke|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The walls are of hewn timber about six inches thick, and bullet-proof.
Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast|Samuel Adams Drake
It was built entirely of hewn stones, and was very straight.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers|Jules Verne
It was about twenty feet high, twice as broad and seemed to be hewn out of solid rock.
The Motor Boys in Mexico|Clarence Young

Together they have hewn the cliffs, which are like vast rock tombs with their Egyptian massiveness.
In the Open|Stanton Davis Kirkham
We went into camp and began to tear down the company quarters for they were built of hewn timber, which it was desirable to save.
Ten years in the ranks, U.S. army|Augustus Meyers

British Dictionary definitions for hewn (1 of 2)

hew

/ (hjuː) /

verb hews, hewing, hewed, hewed or hewn (hjuːn)

to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe

(tr often foll by out) to shape or carve from a substance

(tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion

(intr often foll by to) US and Canadian to conform (to a code, principle, etc)

Derived Formshewer, noun

Word Origin for hew

Old English hēawan; related to Old Norse heggva, Old Saxon hāwa, Old High German houwan, Latin cūdere to beat

British Dictionary definitions for hewn (2 of 2)

HEW

abbreviation for (in the US)

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

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