rude
adjective
discourteous or impolite, especially in a deliberate way.
rude
1 American
[rood]
/ rud /
adjective
-
ruder,
comparative
-
rudest
superlative
-
discourteous or impolite, especially in a deliberate way.
a rude reply.
- Synonyms:
- fresh, pert, saucy, impudent, impertinent, brusque, curt, unmannerly, uncivil
-
without culture, learning, or refinement.
rude, illiterate peasants.
- Synonyms:
- rough, vulgar, coarse, uncouth, uncivilized, uncultured, unrefined
-
rough in manners or behavior; unmannerly; uncouth.
-
rough, harsh, or ungentle.
rude hands.
-
roughly wrought, built, or formed; of a crude construction or kind.
a rude cottage.
-
not properly or fully developed; raw; unevolved.
a rude first stage of development.
-
harsh to the ear.
rude sounds.
-
without artistic elegance; of a primitive simplicity.
a rude design.
-
violent or tempestuous, as the waves.
- Synonyms:
- stormy, turbulent, tumultuous, fierce
-
robust, sturdy, or vigorous.
rude strength.
-
approximate or tentative.
a rude first calculation of costs.
Rude
2
American
[r y d]
/ rüd /
noun
rude
British
/ ruːd /
adjective
-
insulting or uncivil; discourteous; impolite
he was rude about her hairstyle
-
lacking refinement; coarse or uncouth
-
vulgar or obscene
a rude joke
-
unexpected and unpleasant
a rude awakening to the facts of economic life
-
roughly or crudely made
we made a rude shelter on the island
-
rough or harsh in sound, appearance, or behaviour
-
humble or lowly
-
(prenominal) robust or sturdy
in rude health
-
(prenominal) approximate or imprecise
a rude estimate
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overrudenessnoun
-
rudenessnoun
-
overrudeadjective
-
unrudeadjective
-
overrudelyadverb
-
rudelyadverb
-
unrudelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of rude
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rude, ruide, from Old French, from Latin rudis
Explanation
Rude describes a type of behavior that isn't appropriate and usually isn't very nice, either — like yelling "You stink!" at a children's talent show. Rude refers to bad behavior or just plain bad manners. For example, children are taught to say "please" and "thank you" or they are considered rude. A rude person needs a little work — rude also means crude or basic, like a rude cabin out in the woods that barely keeps the rain out. It can be a sudden realization, too. If you wake up and see your breath, it's a rude awakening that the heat's not working.
Vocabulary lists containing rude
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Words for Carolers
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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
PMI data showed the economy was in unexpectedly rude health—and gave the Federal Reserve more room to raise interest rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
But the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator knows his unit must show urgency and improvement Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after a rude wake-up call in the season opener.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“When the loved one dies and the house goes into probate, then they get a rude awakening.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
If the Tisza majority expects Baka to be a tame president, they may get a rude awakening.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Spoiled, rude, and selfish was precisely what these children were.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Following her was fellow queen Kochina Rude who came out dressed as Pee-wee Herman to perform the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil” before stage-diving into the crowd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Emelyn Rude, author of Tastes Like Chicken: A History of America’s Favorite Bird, says “the shock comes from this dissonance: we don’t think of it as a luxury food.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
“This suggests that mature consumers are not only growing in number but also increasing their spending at a significant pace,” said Jana Rude, Euromonitor’s senior global insight manager for consumers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 28, 2025
Rude gestures are rare on postage stamps, but Ukraine's best known stamp has one.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2024
“Small horned toad. Rude as it is spiky. It’s stealing my seeds for my science experiment. I figured you’re a Holy Being, it’s a Holy Being. Maybe you know each other?”
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Two in 10 said today’s behavior is a lot ruder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2025
Giving evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Cummings accepted his language was "deplorable" but denied he had been misogynistic, adding: "I was much ruder about men."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2023
Nothing is ruder than a guest who is constantly checking emails or making private phone calls.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
But his vision of it as a ruder, rawer, freer place is as uninteresting as it is inconsequential.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2022
‘Because,’ Sophie said, blushing a little, ‘if they go down instead of up, they’ll be coming out somewhere else with an even louder and ruder noise.’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
It’s that they’ve done it by transforming into the rudest, most hard-hitting, trash-talking team in professional basketball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
It was a rude speech, maybe the rudest by a national leader in Davos history.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
If there was hope, and belief, that this type of performance was maybe behind them, then this was the rudest of rude awakenings.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025
The rudest, most disrespectful tweets garner eight times as many likes and ten times as many retweets as civil ones.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2022
That was altogether too much from a lad younger than herself, and Meg walked away, saying petulantly, “You are the rudest boy I ever saw.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
