unwashed

American  

[uhn-wosht, -wawsht] / ʌnˈwɒʃt, -ˈwɔʃt /

adjective

1. not cleaned or purified by or as if by washing.

   unwashed dishes;

   the unwashed soul of a sinner.

2. pertaining to or characteristic of the common people; untutored, unsophisticated, or ignorant; plebeian.

   the power of the unwashed electorate.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. an ignorant or lower-class group; rabble.

   The author claimed that the unwashed would not understand his books.

unwashed British  

/ ʌnˈwɒʃt /

adjective

1. not washed

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plural noun

1. humorous the masses

Etymology

Origin of unwashed

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; un- ¹ + wash ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unwashed

He has over 14,000 denim items, some of which he saved from dumpsters, others were donated, and some are his own unwashed pairs of raw denim jeans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

When Victoria Gordon arrives at a client's house, she can be met with huge piles of clothes, stacks of unwashed dishes and badly blocked toilets.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Door handles, faucet knobs, and flush levers tend to be more contaminated because they are frequently touched, often with unwashed hands.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026

They won so I wore it again, unwashed for Game 2.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025

The day was miserably hot and muggy, full of flies, mosquitoes, and the bad smells of soapmaking, the outhouses, fish someone had caught, unwashed bodies.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler