ill-mannered

American  

[il-man-erd] / ˈɪlˈmæn ərd /

adjective

1. having bad or poor manners; impolite; discourteous; rude.

   Synonyms:

   uncivil, crude, unpolished

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ill-mannered British  

adjective

1. having bad manners; rude; impolite

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Other Word Forms

• ill-manneredness
  noun
• ill-manneredly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ill-mannered

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at ill, mannered

Explanation

Someone who's ill-mannered is rude. It would be ill-mannered to show up an hour late to your cousin's wedding reception with a carful of your (uninvited) friends. If you act in an impolite, ungracious, or discourteous way, you'll be thought of as ill-mannered. It's ill-mannered to cut in front of people in line, to take a subway seat where an elderly person was getting ready to sit, or to invite everyone in your class except one person to your birthday party. Ill-mannered adds the prefix ill-, "badly," to mannered, "having manners," from manner, "way of doing things."

Example Sentences

In fact, one might meet Baby, the dog shared by Mr. King, Ms. Radziwill and Mr. Swanhaus, and find her slightly ill mannered at times.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2016

But I am not ashamed because I am a bad father, a bad individual or ill mannered.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

And de children is all so ill mannered, too.

From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Oklahoma Narratives by Work Projects Administration

I should exaggerate if I were to say that she was beautiful and elegant; but she was good looking, and not usually ill mannered.

From An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids by Trollope, Anthony

Many a time her nice sense of delicacy confessed itself hurt, by the deep and abiding colour her cheeks would wear after one of their ill mannered flings at her.

From Queechy by Warner, Susan