Home UK English rude

Meaning of rude in English:

rude

Pronunciation /ruːd/

See synonyms for rude

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adjective

  • 1Offensively impolite or bad-mannered.

    ‘she had been rude to her boss’
    • ‘he is a rude and arrogant bully’
    • ‘it's rude to talk about people right in front of them’
    • ‘It is such short notice and it is awfully rude of me to inform you of this just now.’
    • ‘I have also learned from other patients that it was not the first time the receptionist had been rude to patients.’
    • ‘Noise, drunkenness, bad manners, rude and discourteous conduct and reckless driving will all raise their ugly heads, whatever we do.’
    • ‘How rude of me, rambling on about my brother when you don't even know my name!’
    • ‘I suppose it would be rude of me to let them part without words passing between us.’
    • ‘‘It was still awfully rude of you,’ Elizabeth replied bluntly.’
    • ‘It was rude of Amy to ignore him, but she didn't mean to.’
    • ‘It is rude of them to be asking you about your religion.’
    • ‘It was rude of them to talk and leave him just standing there.’
    • ‘I know it was rude of me to interrupt you while you were speaking.’
    • ‘She instantly felt guilty for the times she had been rude to him.’
    • ‘I'd like to apologise to anyone who I've been rude to or offended in the past - because I'm sure there's lots of them out there.’
    • ‘He knew that he had been rude to her, but it wasn't really on purpose.’
    • ‘It was rather rude of me to try and force your emotions out of you.’
    • ‘If Cate believed in something strongly enough to confront me about it, it would be rude of me not to consider it fairly.’
    • ‘She dismissed the idea almost instantly: Lauren had been rude to her from the start, she was the one who should apologise.’
    • ‘It would have been rude to refuse the offer, even though the bar's whiskey would undoubtedly fall short of his usual standards.’
    • ‘It may have been rude of me to ask, but because of reasons of my own, I had to know.’
    • ‘When I was in his class two years ago he was always very rude to me and he has also been rude to me over the Internet.’
    • ‘He was rude to her and she replied with an equally vigorous riposte.’
    ill-mannered, bad-mannered, impolite, discourteous, impertinent, insolent, impudent, cheeky, audacious, presumptuous, uncivil, disrespectful, unmannerly, ill-bred, churlish, crass, curt, brusque, blunt, ungracious, graceless, brash, unpleasant, disagreeable, offhand, short, sharp
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    1. 1.1British Referring to a taboo subject such as sex in a way considered embarrassing or offensive.
      ‘Graham giggled at every rude joke’
      • ‘Advertisers of pornographic content are prohibited from using rude words in the subject line of sexually explicit images.’
      • ‘A couple, as well as a family of six, were subjected to these rude actions and many onlookers were shocked and disgusted at what they witnessed.’
      • ‘I was once on a crowded Muni bus, wherein someone made a loud, rude, and embarrassing sound.’
      • ‘He made a number of rude gestures in their direction and shouted obscenities at them.’
      • ‘But when the woman, who was in in her 20s, returned she verbally abused Ms Young, made rude gestures at her and then drove off.’
      • ‘Unfortunately, rude gestures also create the impression that other anti-social behaviours are somehow acceptable.’
      • ‘Sex to the adults of my youth was embarrassing, rude or funny.’
      • ‘As the owner banged on the window, one of the thieves hot-wired the car, whilst the other made a rude gesture.’
      • ‘I have repeatedly had cars flashing their lights at me or hooting their horns and giving very rude gestures.’
      • ‘West pulled faces and made rude gestures at the press as he stood in the dock.’
      • ‘You shouldn't be making rude gestures to people!’
      • ‘The ‘okay’ sign (touching your finger to your thumb) is considered a rude gesture in Peru.’
      • ‘I get annoyed when pedestrians walk five or six astride and cars have to swerve to avoid hitting them, and then the driver still gets a rude gesture or threat from these pedestrians.’
      • ‘There would be no rude hand gestures, no cross words.’
      • ‘With a few rude noises and gestures, the boys walked away.’
      • ‘Expect lots of rude jokes, political provocation, and more than a few references that would offend if they weren't so funny.’
      • ‘David drove insanely fast, flying by honking cars, rude gestures and angry cries from various drivers on the road.’
      • ‘She smiled at him gently and he made a very rude gesture to her.’
      • ‘But then I glanced behind me and saw her making rude hand gestures at my back.’
      • ‘Some of the jokes were rude, others corny, and some a tad funny.’
      vulgar, coarse, smutty, dirty, filthy, crude, lewd, obscene, offensive, indelicate, improper, indecorous, salacious, off colour, tasteless, in bad taste
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  • 2attributive Having a startling abruptness.

    ‘the war came as a very rude awakening’
    • ‘But the dream, like all others, became harsh reality with a rude awakening.’
    • ‘For many it will be a rude awakening and emphasise the need for a radical rethink before soccer's loss is another gain for a different form of sport, or worse still the sedentary armchair variety.’
    • ‘It has been a singularly rude awakening for France and the country has embarked on a deep, soul-searching, introspection on how things could have gone so horribly wrong.’
    • ‘After a summer of doing just about anything on your own time, the alarm bell announcing the first day of school can be a rude awakening.’
    • ‘It wasn't just the rude awakening which stunned residents, but the fact that the road had been resurfaced just days before, following years of campaigning by the parish council.’
    • ‘But my first round of mid-terms brought a rude awakening: three C's!’
    • ‘But after their stay in that sun-kissed paradise they got a rude awakening on heading out into the Atlantic, which was to prove stormy and rough.’
    • ‘For the intellectuals and the urban lower middle class, the new situation was a rude awakening of disillusionment and broken promises.’
    • ‘This rude awakening came from underestimating the non-designer's understanding of design principals.’
    • ‘Before dawn broke on Tuesday, drug crime suspects had a rude awakening as officers with battering rams smashed down doors around the town in an operation to target dealers.’
    • ‘Failure of immediate action may lead to a rude awakening.’
    • ‘The next three years will see a rude awakening for Baikal.’
    • ‘If the cost of repairing the damage could be laid squarely at the door of those people, it would be a rude awakening and remind them of their parental responsibilities.’
    • ‘But we were in for a rude awakening when a savage thunder and lightning storm struck right over the stadium during the match.’
    • ‘Senior staff, classroom teachers, governors and parents have all had a rude awakening since James' arrival, me included.’
    • ‘Delude ourselves into that kind of thinking however and a rude awakening will await us.’
    • ‘The sharp downturn in the US economy has brought a rude awakening to many in the IT sector.’
    • ‘A three-year courtship enabled them to paint realistic portraits of one another, lessening the chances of a rude awakening after marriage.’
    • ‘Well let's just say the happy couple is about to get a rude awakening.’
    • ‘A rude awakening, however, occurred on July 16th, 1936.’
    abrupt, sudden, sharp, startling
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  • 3British attributive Vigorous or hearty.

    ‘Isabel had always been in rude health’
    • ‘It wasn't long before I caught a salmon - a fat fresh hen fish of about seven kilos, in such rude health that it took me the best part of half an hour to get it to the bank.’
    • ‘A work that details every expression of lack of vigour in the different organs, limbs and brain of the body politic, therefore, paradoxically leaves a general impression of rude health.’
    • ‘The horse has bounced back to rude health lately, winning at Ayr and Pontefract in the style of a rejuvenated character.’
    • ‘Contrary to the doleful prophecies of superannuated Jeremiahs, pop is in rude health.’
    • ‘This year has found the pop group in rude health, building on the momentum of their self-titled debut album selling 270,000 copies.’
    • ‘Bob Woodhouse, who trains at Welburn near Malton, has his horses in rude health at present and a double could come his way from two of his recent winners.’
    • ‘Whilst Charlton's finances are in rude health, matters on the field took a turn for the worse as they were beaten by a Crystal Palace reserve side.’
    • ‘He is in such rude health at present that it is difficult to ignore his claims.’
    • ‘George Hodgson enjoyed rude health until he died in 1715 at the age of 94.’
    • ‘Sue Smith is another trainer who has her horses in rude health.’
    • ‘The five-year-old is in rude health at present, as she showed when scoring handsomely at Ayr on her latest start.’
    • ‘In fact, we see plenty of evidence to support the idea that the TV and radio broadcast model is in rude health, and is becoming more highly valued than ever.’
    • ‘This is a well sequenced selection of top quality grooves that takes the pulse of 21st century African roots music and finds it to be in surprisingly rude health.’
    • ‘The vast media conglomerates looking to take over the online music market are in rude health.’
    • ‘Ten years on, and the footballer's in rude health and definitely on form.’
    • ‘Despite what major label accountants would have you believe, rock 'n' roll is in a state of rude health at the moment.’
    • ‘A big jump in new database license sales shows a company in rude health.’
    • ‘For the moment, however, Wood is in rude health and enjoying a tour he sees as a precursor to greater things ahead.’
    • ‘But investor confidence is not in rude health, and companies that are not whiter than white in their accountancy practices are being downgraded by the market.’

  • 4dated Roughly made or done; lacking sophistication.

    ‘a rude coffin’
    • ‘Mehmet steals a truck and sets out on the road with Berzan's rude coffin in the back.’
    • ‘He seemed rude and rough like a devil on the outside, but I guess he was a real angel in the inside.’
    primitive, crude, rudimentary, rough, rough-hewn, rough and ready, simple, basic, makeshift
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    1. 4.1archaic Ignorant and uneducated.
      • ‘the new religion was first promulgated by rude men’
      ignorant, unenlightened, uneducated, unschooled, untutored, illiterate, unlettered, unlearned, unscholarly, unread, uninformed, backward, simple
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Origin

Middle English (in rude (sense 4), also ‘uncultured’): from Old French, from Latin rudis ‘unwrought’ (referring to handicraft), figuratively ‘uncultivated’; related to rudus ‘broken stone’.