uncouth
Americanadjective
-
awkward, clumsy, or unmannerly.
uncouth behavior; an uncouth relative who embarrasses the family.
- Synonyms:
- uncivil, rude, discourteous
- Antonyms:
- courteous
-
strange and ungraceful in appearance or form.
-
unusual or strange.
- Synonyms:
- unfamiliar, odd
adjective
Related Words
See boorish.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uncouth
before 900; Middle English; Old English uncūth ( see un- 1, couth 2); cognate with Dutch onkond
Explanation
When you're at a fancy dinner party, if you burp after you eat, use your fingers to spread butter on your bread, and hang spoons from your nose, people will probably say you are uncouth, meaning vulgar and ill-mannered. The adjective uncouth comes from Old English and it meant "unfamiliar or not well known." As the meaning developed, the word came to mean "rude, vulgar, or lacking refinement." Interestingly, the word uncouth came first and its antonym, couth, was developed to describe someone who is cultured, polished, and sophisticated. Although couth gets an entry in the dictionary, you will still hear the word uncouth used far more often.
Vocabulary lists containing uncouth
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Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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Grade 10, List 4
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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.
I love those from Uncouth Vermouth and Matthiasson.
From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2019
I am no shepherd, No mountain-dweller, I am not a ploughboy, Uncouth and stinking of cattle.
From The New Yorker • Nov. 2, 2018
That night some 3,000 teenagers showed up carrying signs with slogans like “Cops Uncouth to Youth” and “Give Back Our Streets”.
From The Guardian • Nov. 11, 2016
Uncouth, vain, ignorant, despised by all the Comet staff except the copy boys.
From Time Magazine Archive
Uncouth and un-ruly they might be, yet the wildlings were his, and he trusted them more than any of his father's men.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
