uncouth
/ʌnˈkuːθ/
uncouth adjective: unfamiliar, strange, foreign.
Adjective
uncouth (comparative uncouther or more uncouth, superlative uncouthest or most uncouth)
- Unfamiliar, strange, foreign.
- If this uncouth
forest yield anything savage, I will either be food for it or
bring it for food to thee.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount... - The trouble of thy thoughts this night in sleep
Affects me equally; nor can I like
This uncouth' dream, of evil sprung I fear […]1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- If this uncouth
- Clumsy, awkward.
- Unrefined, crude.
- I don't want to associate with uncouth people.
- Harsh words, though pertinent, uncouth appear: / None please the fancy, who offend the ear.1699, Samuel Garth, The Dispensary, Canto IV, line 204
uncouth meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
uncouth in Hindi
- unrefined, crude
- अशिष्ट aśiṣṭ, असभ्य asabhya
uncouth in Urdu
- uncouth
- ادب آداب سے نا آشنا adab ādāb se nā āśnā
uncouth in Bengali
- uncouth, ugly
- অকমনীয় okomoniẏo
- uncouth
- অদ্ভুত odbhut
uncouth in Malayalam
- മര്യാദയില്ലാത്ത, അവിലക്ഷണ, ഗോഷ്ടിനിറഞ്ഞ
More languagesFewer languages
- uncouth in Kannada
- ತೊಡಕಿನ, ಅಡ್ಡಾದಿಡ್ಡಿ, ಒರಟು, ಒಡ್ಡ
- uncouth in Arabic
- فَظّ faẓẓ
Examples of uncouth in a sentence
- There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols.1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Voyage”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New...
- If Yule found it delightful, why did Kipling find it uncouth?2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At `Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27...
- “I don’t think it’s uncouth to talk about it.2021 May 10, Ian Prasad Philbrick, quoting Brian Fallon, “‘We May Not Have a Full Two Years’: Democrats’ Plans Hinge on Good Health”, in...
Synonyms of uncouth
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- deviant
- discrepant
- eerie
- eldritch
- errant
- exceptional
- extraordinary
- fey
- forby
- freak
- freakish
- freaky
- funny
- heteroclite
- hinky
- incongruous
- incongruitous
- irregular
- kooky
- nonstandard
- odd
- outlandish
- out of the ordinary
- outré
- peculiar
- quaint
- queer
- queer as a clockwork orange
- queer as a nine bob note
- queer as a three dollar bill
Antonyms
Forms of uncouth
| comparative | uncouther |
|---|---|
| comparative | more uncouth |
| superlative | uncouthest |
| superlative | most uncouth |
Origin of uncouth
From Middle English uncouth, from Old English uncūþ (“unknown; unfamiliar; strange”), from Proto-West Germanic *unkunþ, from Proto-Germanic *unkunþaz (“unknown”), equivalent to un- + couth. The modern pronunciation does not show /aʊ/, the usual development of the Middle English vowel from the Great Vowel Shift. It is usually explained as a pronunciation taken from Northern English dialects, which did not undergo the diphthongization of the vowel.
Words formed from uncouth
Words that rhyme with uncouth
Questions about uncouth
- What does uncouth mean?
- Uncouth means unfamiliar, strange, foreign.
- What is uncouth in Hindi?
- Uncouth in Hindi is अशिष्ट (aśiṣṭ), असभ्य (asabhya). See Uncouth meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use uncouth in a sentence?
- There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols.
- What part of speech is uncouth?
- Uncouth is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce uncouth?
- Uncouth is pronounced /ʌnˈkuːθ/.
Words near uncouth in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: uncouth (page history and authors); ادب آداب سے نا آشنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); অকমনীয় (Bengali) (page history and authors); uncouth (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); uncouth (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-uncouth.wav.
Cite this entry: “uncouth.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/uncouth. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.