as in boorish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners
it would be churlish for any dinner guest to express anything but gratitude for his host's generous hospitality
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Recent Examples of churlish
Kay hasn’t acted since before Marty was born, and Marty never breaks character — they were made for a churlish May-December affair that unlocks something in them both.
—
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 1 Dec. 2025
Read more: How the Low-Stakes Murder Mystery Took Over Pop Culture
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Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
The pure of heart among you may recoil at the notion that anyone would sow brutish chaos, hurt vulnerable people and throw any semblance of democracy under the bus for a churlish, vicious distraction.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 1 Dec. 2025
Read more: How the Low-Stakes Murder Mystery Took Over Pop Culture
Advertisement
Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 22 Aug. 2025
The pure of heart among you may recoil at the notion that anyone would sow brutish chaos, hurt vulnerable people and throw any semblance of democracy under the bus for a churlish, vicious distraction.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.
—Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for churlish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churlish
Adjective
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Entitled also makes a compelling case that Andrew is—to put it delicately—boorish and dim.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
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An exodus of prosecutors who didn’t care for his staff screaming sessions and boorish press conferences.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Those songs both ended with squalls of noise, hinting at Bash’s interest in more uncouth arrangements.—
Stephen Kearse,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
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Trump's uncouth behavior barely rates a headline anymore, so frequent are the examples.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The four leads are overconfident and loutish, spending their time drinking, rambling, and clumsily working through their worries about the future.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
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Mays’ Salieri is at once aghast at such loutish behavior and bitterly envious that Mozart is exceptional enough to get away with it.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Of course, sometimes the situation is more serious than stupid.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
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The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Black characters that appeared on-screen closely resembled the clownish stereotypes popularized by the minstrels.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
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The clownish dance is a Fortnite video game gesture, and involves making an L shape with fingers, pressing it to one’s forehead, then high kicking from side to side.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some of the reaction to his death was also classless.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
21 Mar. 2026
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Communism, in its traditional definition, describes a system in which private property is abolished and the means of production are collectively owned, with the goal of creating a classless society.—
Cameron Schoppa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Politically incorrect and in-your-face, with plenty of dark humor accentuating the drama, the show resembles the more cutting-edge TV — think Borgen or Rita — made by Sweden’s ruder neighbor Denmark.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
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Etiquette neither knows nor cares who is generous and who is stingy, and indecisive and rude are not opposites.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
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Tensions rose, neighbors said, to the point that King was heard at times swearing at Kirsten Wells as well as others using vulgar epithets.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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