Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective churlish differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of churlish are boorish, clownish, and loutish. While all these words mean "uncouth in manners or appearance," churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

When can boorish be used instead of churlish?

Although the words boorish and churlish have much in common, boorish implies rudeness of manner due to insensitiveness to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable.

a drunk's boorish behavior

When might clownish be a better fit than churlish?

In some situations, the words clownish and churlish are roughly equivalent. However, clownish suggests ill-bred awkwardness, ignorance or stupidity, ungainliness, and often a propensity for absurd antics.

an adolescent's clownish conduct

In what contexts can loutish take the place of churlish?

The synonyms loutish and churlish are sometimes interchangeable, but loutish implies bodily awkwardness together with stupidity.

a loutish oaf

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of churlish And churlish is exactly how Trump wants to portray him. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 19 Jan. 2024 In fact, one of the clips from Trump’s speech on Saturday which got the most coverage was his mockery of Biden’s stutter: a churlish—and, no doubt, premeditated—slur. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024 Players might be more accepting of dressing in a crowded locker room or answering questions on behalf of a player who speaks infrequently if the responsible party is someone like Ohtani than, say, the notoriously churlish Bonds. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 The victor certainly isn’t Capote, who dissipates the good will of his ex-boyfriend Jack Dunphy (Joe Mantello) with his descent into alcoholism and deliberately courts beatings from his churlish lover John O’Shea (Russell Tovey) with his sharp tongue. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for churlish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churlish
Adjective
  • When the train reaches Chicago, she's quickly arrested by a boorish officer who refuses to hear her account of what happened.
    Matt Cabral, EW.com, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega play a father and daughter who happen upon a real-life unicorn with supernatural abilities that a couple of boorish businessman types (Richard E. Grant and Will Poulter) are keen to exploit.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Some authors paint the media as an intrusive, uncouth pack of wolves.
    Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Buteau’s special isn’t as brainy, brash or uncouth as others released this year, but there’s a sweetly molten core to her routines, a sense of genuine warmth.
    Melissa Kirsch, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Even Lochlan and Piper, who think of themselves as more enlightened than their loutish brother and materialistic parents, have a lot of Victoria in them.
    Noel Murray, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Every great festival lineup needs an eccentric art-pop groundbreaker and some loutish guys who write anthems.
    Al Shipley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Ignoring those who served and buried honorably is stupid.
    Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But Victor leans less into clownish mortification than her predecessors, making room instead for a delicate quietude and sincerity.
    Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Redheads often fielded comments related to having a hot temper, being clownish, weirdness, Irishness, not capable of being in the sun, being wild (among women), wimpy (among men), and intellectually superior.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • But, for not a single D to stand to applaud a boy's brave battle with cancer, or a man's admission to West Point, was a classless disgrace.
    Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Communism, on the other hand, advocates for a classless society where all property is communally owned.
    H. Sami Karaca, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The move garnered mixed reactions, with many calling out Brown for his rude tone and choice of words.
    Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Shift The Focus To Collaboration Sometimes, rude colleagues act out of insecurity or stress.
    Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Over time, authorities also sidelined activities like sumo wrestling—considered vulgar by Westerners—in favor of baseball, boating, mountain climbing, and other activities popular in the West.
    Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Cornelius said that the superintendent later informed her of other prior incidents including her son — who has autism and is nonverbal — getting a shower without her permission, getting called vulgar names by staff and teachers, and receiving other inappropriate comments.
    Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Churlish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churlish. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

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