Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective loutish differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of loutish are boorish, churlish, and clownish. While all these words mean "uncouth in manners or appearance," loutish implies bodily awkwardness together with stupidity.

a loutish oaf

When would boorish be a good substitute for loutish?

Although the words boorish and loutish 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

In what contexts can churlish take the place of loutish?

The words churlish and loutish can be used in similar contexts, but churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

When could clownish be used to replace loutish?

The words clownish and loutish are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, clownish suggests ill-bred awkwardness, ignorance or stupidity, ungainliness, and often a propensity for absurd antics.

an adolescent's clownish conduct

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 loutish At one point Jan, distracted by Kasia’s upcoming sonogram, is being drilled by his loutish captain. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2023 McNally is known for dishing dirt on his celebrity clientele, exposing loutish diners, and waxing philosophical about Manhattan cultural mores. Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Apr. 2023 Both Steve and Nick turn a blind eye to the way their mostly white clientele single out the token dancer of color for particularly loutish objectification, grabbing Otis’s head for a kiss or reaching inside his briefs despite his clear discomfort. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022 Yet this film’s strong proto-feminist stance, in which two young women seek new, urban lives in Budapest while regularly battling loutish men, proves its biggest draw. David Mermelstein, WSJ, 24 Sep. 2022 See all Example Sentences for loutish 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loutish
Adjective
  • Queen Elizabeth always preferred the boorish Andrew to the sensitive Charles.
    airmail.news, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024
  • Naturally, the media hyped the event as Bart versus Bill, a showdown between one show’s wholesome family values and the other’s brash, boorish cynicism — the aspirational ’80s facing off against the anarchic ’90s.
    Darryn King, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Where DiCaprio is brash and wild and uncouth, Gladstone is understated, filled with a deep sadness but also a well of light and humor.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Masters of None The practice of interviewing government officials became commonplace in the United States by the 1880s, but was considered uncouth in parts of Europe through the end of the First World War.
    Harper's Magazine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • 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
  • As vice-president, Kamala Harris was generally regarded as unimpressive and slightly clownish, with her banal repetitions and too-frequent outbursts of too-exuberant laughter.
    Avi Nelson, Boston Herald, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • There are no more stupid questions and an open, supportive, and curious culture evolves.
    Darpan Munjal, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
  • The cliché that Americans are stupid and lazy is as pernicious as the cliché that teenagers are, well, stupid and lazy.
    John Hodgman, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Some might consider this observation churlish when her biggest rival, ITV, was criticized for abandoning the playing field on Christmas Day after scheduling a parade of repeats.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The British series, which debuted in 2022, follows Oscar winner Gary Oldman’s churlish and disheveled Jackson Lamb as the leader of a team of disgraced and disowned MI5 agents scrappily and shabbily getting the job done.
    Trey Williams, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • Communism, on the other hand, advocates for a classless society where all property is communally owned.
    H. Sami Karaca, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Their classless behavior is almost unbelievable at times.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near loutish

Cite this Entry

“Loutish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loutish. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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