churlish

adjective

churl·ish ˈchər-lish

Synonyms of churlish next

: of, resembling, or characteristic of a churl : vulgar

: marked by a lack of civility or graciousness : surly

he didn't like the churlish tone in his voice—

Margaret Truman

outrage is among your more churlish emotions—

Robert Goldsborough

It would be churlish not to congratulate her.

: difficult to work with or deal with : intractable

churlish soil

churlishly adverb

churlishness noun

Did you know?

The History of Churlish Goes Back to Anglo-Saxon England

In Old English, the word ceorl referred to a free peasant—someone who was neither part of the nobility nor enslaved or in debt. In Anglo-Saxon England, which lasted roughly from the 5th to 11th centuries, ceorls had many rights that peasants of lower social status did not, and a few even rose to the rank of thane. However, as most ceorls were driven into the class of unfree villeins over the centuries, especially following the Norman Conquest, the connotation of the word ceorl—spelled cherl in Middle English and then finally churl—diminished as well, eventually coming to mean “a lowly peasant” and later “a rude, ill-bred person.” Similarly, churlish began in the form ceorlisc in Old English as a simple descriptor of someone with the rank of ceorl, but today it describes a boorish person, or their rude and insensitive behavior.

Choose the Right Synonym for churlish

boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish 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

churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

loutish implies bodily awkwardness together with stupidity.

a loutish oaf

clownish suggests ill-bred awkwardness, ignorance or stupidity, ungainliness, and often a propensity for absurd antics.

an adolescent's clownish conduct

Examples of churlish in a Sentence

It would be churlish not to congratulate him. it would be churlish for any dinner guest to express anything but gratitude for his host's generous hospitality

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 Asked about these comments, and responding to them, Tiger himself was churlish. —

Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 18 July 2024 Furthermore, Mody’s dismissal of India’s developmental gains in the three decades since liberalization comes across as churlish. —

Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2023 And churlish is exactly how Trump wants to portray him. —

Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 19 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for churlish

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cherlyssh "of churls, rustic, uncouth," going back to Old English ceorlisc, cyrlisc, from ceorl "male person, countryman, member of the lowest class of free men" + -isc -ish — more at churl

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of churlish was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century