churl

noun

ˈchər(-ə)l How to pronounce churl (audio)
Definition of churlnext
1
as in peasant
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country as far as he was concerned, anyone from outside the city was a backwater churl

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in miser
a mean grasping person who is usually stingy with money don't bother asking for donations at that house—the churl who lives there believes that charity begins and ends at home

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others a churl who gets thrown out of parties with remarkable regularity

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 churl But the cartoonish executive in Episode 1 will require a Grinch-like turnaround to become anything but a clownish churl. — Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Mar. 2022 Only a churl would lament the existence of these testaments to the out-of-nowhere potential of a great pop hit. — Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churl
  1. peasant
  2. miser
  3. jerk
  4. hick
  5. dog
  6. clown
  7. bumpkin
  8. yokel
Noun
  • Influential courtiers orbited more closely than those with less gravity, and peasants weren’t part of the picture.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Sinclair confessed that his only direct experience with the motion picture business was as the financial backer of Sergei Eisenstein’s Thunder Over Mexico (1933), a documentary ethnography of Mexican peasant life.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of peasant
Noun
  • Well, everyone knows Ebenezer Scrooge was an evil, wealthy miser who hated Christmas.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 14 Sep. 2026
  • But great writers and great mathematicians were able to overcome their inner cognitive miser and use these new technologies to great effect.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of miser
Noun
  • Bella’s childhood friend Angus (Jake Simmance), a corporate jerk, condescendingly probes Johnny about his career.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • There was significant excitement over the first-look footage revealing perhaps the world’s biggest movie star transforming himself to become a portly, gray-haired jerk in an offbeat feature focusing on climate change.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerk
Noun
  • When Johnson was vice president and visiting Europe, there were reports filed by these British ambassadors in several countries that basically made fun of him as a hick.
    — Wendy Naugle, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
  • So a bunch of hicks from Topeka were left up to our own devices of going down to Robert Hall and finding something that might be kind of cool.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of hick
Noun
  • Sheriff’s cadaver dogs, deputies with shovels and a backhoe were seen at work.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Lead and cadmium exposure has been linked to canine cancer, a leading cause of death in dogs.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dog
Noun
  • The brand featured a thematic clown mascot and the beloved product was sold in famously reusable glassware.
    — Joey Skladany, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2026
  • What followed were Zoom-inclusive mediation meetings, the revelation of tens of thousands of dollars of debt, and something about clown school.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of clown
Noun
  • Simply put, the small-town bumpkins from North Florida who support this idea should be made to pay for it.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.
    — Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of bumpkin
Noun
  • Kerry learned this the hard way after allowing Jordan to question what appeared to be a local yokel over the mysterious shooting at a Rushville high school football game.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2026
  • It was left to the feds in Boston to arrest Farwell, after Meatball’s local yokels adamantly refused to do anything other than try to broom the crime by one of their own.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Definition of yokel

Browse Nearby Words

churchyards
churl
churlish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Churl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churl. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on churl

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about churl

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All