as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
a TV producer who knew what the unwashed masses wanted—and unhesitatingly gave it to them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in masses
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
Aunt Edna was fond of snootily reminding us that we need not take our manners from the great unwashed
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unwashed
Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
Prepare your equipment There’s almost nothing worse than going on a romantic date with your partner, perhaps for some tacos, only to get down to business later and accidentally burn them with your spicy, unwashed hands.
—Quispe López, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
Wash Your Hands First, make sure your hands are clean, as failing to wash your hands properly can lead to serious oral health issues.
Bacteria and viruses from unwashed hands can enter the mouth, increasing the risk of infections like gingivitis, cavities, and even hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
Clean the Handle and Zippers The handle and zippers get a lot of use and are frequently touched, often with unwashed hands.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Adjective
Here the West is unwashed — muddy, bloody, cold and mean.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
Prepare your equipment There’s almost nothing worse than going on a romantic date with your partner, perhaps for some tacos, only to get down to business later and accidentally burn them with your spicy, unwashed hands.
—Quispe López, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
Wash Your Hands First, make sure your hands are clean, as failing to wash your hands properly can lead to serious oral health issues.
Bacteria and viruses from unwashed hands can enter the mouth, increasing the risk of infections like gingivitis, cavities, and even hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
Clean the Handle and Zippers The handle and zippers get a lot of use and are frequently touched, often with unwashed hands.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unwashed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwashed
Adjective
-
The survey's measure of consumer sentiment dropped to a level lower than at any point during the Great Recession.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Like, ridiculously low prices; a few quick searches of my own uncovered a Goyard St. Louis tote dupe (normally priced anywhere from $1,600-$2,400) for $22.—
Francesca Krempa,
StyleCaster,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Yet Empire Falls translates into a lumpen, stodgy miniseries, despite a fine central performance from Harris as a divorced diner owner with deep roots in the town and a structure that allows the past to keep informing and enriching the present.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2024
-
Rhys spent decades, often isolated and paranoid, in lumpen houses and apartments in and out of London, before success arrived late.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
20 June 2022
Noun
-
There was little-to-no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side were going to defeat Ralf Rangnick’s under-interim-management rabble that day.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
4 Jan. 2025
-
Advertisement From start to finish, pure madness, amid a rabble that never calmed, never quieted, never quit.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Like a cat with nine lives, the building has undergone multiple renovations since its humble start as a savonnerie, or soap factory, in 1630.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Apr. 2025
-
What began as a humble mom-and-pop grocer and butcher shop a century ago is now a well-greased sausage factory, selling its products to big-name distributors such as Shamrock Foods, US Foods and Sysco, which get them to major sporting venues such as Ball Arena and Coors Field.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In contrast to the anti-immigrant rhetoric emanating from the White House, the survey of 800 California voters portrays a populace that values the contributions of immigrants, regardless of legal status, and believes their well-being is intertwined with a well-functioning state.—
Rebecca Plevin,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Their exodus leaves behind a populace that, like in the Weimar Republic, dismisses each authoritarian advance as temporary, necessary—or even more astonishing, somehow contained.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Across the lake, on the plebeian side, up the shoreline a mile or so, in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, stand twin 32-story towers dubbed Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
In Weill’s opinion, composers educated in the classical tradition had lost touch with the broader public and sunk into obscurantism.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Given the isolationist tendencies of the U.S. public and Congress in the pre-war years—best exemplified by passage of the neutrality laws in the mid 1930s—Roosevelt’s ability to counter the economic autarky and expansionist aims of fascist Germany, Italy, and Japan was severely limited.—
Time,
Time,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As is the case with the aesthetics of people, exquisite lines can be found on patrician and proletariat cars alike.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Inspired by Karl Marx, the Bolsheviks dreamed of a world communist revolution and held special expectations for Germany, Marx’s homeland, and for its proletariat.—
Michael Kimmage,
Foreign Affairs,
19 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Unwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwashed. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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