boorish

adjective

ˈbu̇r-ish How to pronounce boorish (audio)
Definition of boorishnext
as in loutish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners boorish behavior, such as yelling for service in restaurants

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective boorish differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of boorish are churlish, clownish, and loutish. While all these words mean "uncouth in manners or appearance," boorish implies rudeness of manner due to insensitiveness to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable.

a drunk's boorish behavior

When might churlish be a better fit than boorish?

While the synonyms churlish and boorish are close in meaning, churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

When is it sensible to use clownish instead of boorish?

In some situations, the words clownish and boorish 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

When could loutish be used to replace boorish?

The words loutish and boorish are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 boorish And in an age of boorish, brawling Little League Parents®, perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from our new friends in the horn hats. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 26 June 2026 The doc goes on to note that, along with boorish audiences, record labels were also wary of Culture Club, even though their aesthetic was very much in the early Eighties new wave and pop mold. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026 In New York, an inspiring young leftist competed against a boorish, but experienced, former governor to replace a corrupt mayor. — Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026 Trump’s boorish behavior gives his tone-deaf followers license to behave the same way. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for boorish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boorish
  1. loutish
  2. uncouth
  3. classless
  4. churlish
  5. clownish
  6. stupid
  7. vulgar
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, the palace has been besieged by loutish suitors, led by the scheming Antinous (Robert Pattinson), all of them vying for the queen’s hand in remarriage and mooching off the absent king’s food and wine.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • And Trump’s domineering, loutish approach to women spoke to its adherents in a way that few, if any, of his rivals could match.
    — Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Definition of loutish
Adjective
  • People had used rude words on television before, but never in such uncouth tones as Lydon and Jones in a regional ITV interview on 1 December 1976.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 23 Aug. 2026
  • His gruff mechanic Cooter Davenport is introduced as a hell-raising, uncouth wild man, constantly taunting the authorities and flouting convention.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of uncouth
Adjective
  • But the tournament will also be remembered for a classless and churlish Argentina, which forever stained itself with a thuggish performance in the game and an ungracious one afterward.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • The harmful framing of women athletes as vulnerable and Black women athletes as overly aggressive and classless has been well-established across studies.
    — Lindsey Darvin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of classless
Adjective
  • But the tournament will also be remembered for a classless and churlish Argentina, which forever stained itself with a thuggish performance in the game and an ungracious one afterward.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • If Vance now recognizes his comments as churlish, lacking in charity, and utterly unlikely to persuade voters, much less witness to the sublime truths of the Christian religion, good for him.
    — Matthew Walther, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of churlish
Adjective
  • The composure of Amélie, and the decidedly wild and clownish manner in which she’s painted, can’t be tamed into order, elegance, or beauty.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • In each of those projects, Johnson created a role for himself, typically a clownish dreamer.
    — Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of clownish
Adjective
  • Video games are one of the world’s most dominant storytelling mediums, yet the writing is often dismissed — not always unfairly — as melodramatic, overly serious and occasionally very stupid.
    — Gene Park, Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Bonnell The enthusiast’s approach Bonnell’s team uses matters because electric motorcycles have an annoying tendency to make power delivery either spectacularly good or spectacularly stupid.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • Decide for yourself whether that’s a bold indicator of English football’s superiority over the rest of the world, or a revolting symbol of the bloated and vulgar behemoth that the game has become.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • However, recent scholarship posits that the structure was used as ordinary (rather than punitive) housing, and that the vulgar decor was in fact a distinguishing characteristic of the epoch.
    — Jim Greer, SPIN, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of vulgar

Browse Nearby Words

boor
boorish
boorishness
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Cite this Entry

“Boorish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boorish. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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