RUDE | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of rude in English rudeadjective uk /ruːd/ us /ruːd/

rude adjective (NOT POLITE)

Add to word list Add to word list B1 not polite; offensive or embarrassing: He's a very rude man.it is rude to It's rude not to say "Thank you" when you are given something.rude to He's got no manners - he's rude to everyone.rude word He shouted a collection of rude words at me and stormed off. not polite
  • rudeHe made a rude remark about the staff.
  • impoliteShe asks direct questions without being in any way impolite.
  • cheekyUK You asked your teacher how old she was? That was a bit cheeky!
  • disrespectfulThe class was very disrespectful towards the new teacher.
  • impertinentIt was clear that they found his questions impertinent.
  • insolentWhat an ungrateful, insolent child!
See more results » B2 relating to sex or going to the toilet: rude joke He told a rude joke/story. Synonyms X-rated bawdy blue (SEXUAL) coarse (RUDE) crude (RUDE) dirty (NOT POLITE) informal explicit filthy (OFFENSIVE) indecent (IMMORAL) lascivious formal disapproving licentious formal disapproving lubricious formal mucky informal obscene offensive (UPSETTING) prurient formal disapproving racy ribald old-fashioned risqué salacious disapproving saucy old-fashioned smutty disapproving suggestive (SEXUAL) vulgar (RUDE) disapproving
  • She made a rude gesture at the other driver.
  • You won't last long in your job if you carry on being so rude to the customers.
  • I've heard him be rude to her on a number of occasions.
  • You get the odd person who's rude to you but they're generally quite helpful.
  • I found him rude and uncooperative.
  • She rarely resorts to rude language.
Rude and cheeky
  • backchat
  • cheekily
  • cheekiness
  • cheeky
  • churlishly
  • churlishness
  • coarse-grained
  • cocky
  • fruity
  • indelicate
  • neanderthal
  • obnoxiously
  • obnoxiousness
  • offensively
  • offensiveness
  • pertly
  • sass
  • unceremonious
  • unpleasant
  • vulgarly
See more results »

rude adjective (SUDDEN)

[ before noun ] sudden and unpleasant: We could all be in for some rude shocks. A rude surprise awaits visitors to the area these days. Returning to the main road offered a rude reminder of just how noisy the modern world is. Not expected or planned
  • abrupt end
  • abrupt halt
  • abruptly
  • abruptness
  • ad hoc
  • inadvertency
  • inadvertent
  • inadvertently
  • inconceivable
  • inconceivable to someone
  • reckon without something phrasal verb
  • rudely
  • sharpness
  • sine die
  • speak extemporaneously
  • unscheduled
  • unscripted
  • unstarry
  • unsuspected
  • untimely
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Serious and unpleasant

rude adjective (SIMPLE)

old use or literary simply and roughly made: We built a rude shelter from rocks on the beach. Synonyms basic (SIMPLE) crude (SIMPLE) elementary inchoate literary rough (POOR QUALITY) rough and ready rudimentary formal simple (PLAIN) undeveloped unrefined unsophisticated Crude and basic
  • 101
  • at bottom idiom
  • backward
  • backwardly
  • backwardness
  • folksy
  • homespun
  • inelegant
  • inelegantly
  • low-tech
  • primordial
  • primordially
  • rough and ready idiom
  • roughly
  • roughness
  • simple
  • simplex
  • skeletally
  • stone-age
  • ultrabasic
See more results » rude health UK very good health: in rude health At 65, he is in rude health. See more

Related words

rudely rudeness

Idiom

rude awakening (Definition of rude from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

rude | American Dictionary

rudeadjective [ -er/-est only ] us /rud/

rude adjective [-er/-est only] (NOT POLITE)

Add to word list Add to word list behaving in a way that hurts other people’s feelings; not polite: I apologized for Ted’s rude behavior. I thought it was rude of him not to introduce me.

rude adjective [-er/-est only] (SUDDEN)

sudden and unpleasant: I’ve lived in Texas most of my life, so it was a rude awakening when I moved to New York.

rudely

adverb us /ˈrud·li/

rudeness

noun [ U ] us /ˈrud·nəs/
He asked too many questions, and his curiosity verged on rudeness. (Definition of rude from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of rude?

Translations of rude

in Chinese (Traditional) 不禮貌的, 粗魯的,粗野的, 討厭的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 不礼貌的, 粗鲁的,粗野的, 讨厌的… See more in Spanish grosero, mal educado, verde… See more in Portuguese grosseiro, mal-educado, sem educação… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian उध्दट, ग्राम्य… See more 失礼な, 無礼な, 卑猥(ひわい)な… See more kaba, nezaketsiz, saygısız… See more impoli/-ie, grossier/-ière, grossier… See more groller, mal educat, verd… See more onbeleefd, vulgair… See more கண்ணியமாக இல்லை, மோசமாக அல்லது சங்கடமாக இருக்கக்கூடியது, செக்ஸ் தொடர்பானது அல்லது கழிப்பறைக்குச் செல்வது… See more असभ्य, विनम्र नहीं, अभद्र… See more ઉદ્ધત, અશિષ્ટ… See more grov, vulgær… See more ohövlig, ohyfsad, grov… See more biadab, kasar… See more grob, primitiv… See more uhøflig, uforskammet, grov… See more بدتمیز, جاہل, بیہودہ… See more грубий, образливий… See more దురుసు, మొరటు / మర్యాద కాదు, అప్రియమైన లేదా ఇబ్బందికరమైన… See more অভদ্র, আপত্তিকর অথবা বিব্রত হওয়ার মতো, যৌনতা বা শৌচ সম্পর্কিত… See more hrubý, sprostý… See more kasar, tidak sopan… See more หยาบคาย, ที่ไม่เหมาะสม… See more thô lỗ, thiếu thẩm mỹ… See more niegrzeczny, nieprzyzwoity, grubiański… See more 무례한, 저속한… See more maleducato, villano, sporco (barzelletta)… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

rudder rudderless ruddily ruddy rude rude awakening idiom rude health phrase rudely rudeness {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of rude

  • rude health phrase
  • rude awakening idiom
  • sound angry, happy, rude, etc. phrase
  • sound angry, happy, rude, etc.
See all meanings
  • rude health phrase
  • rude awakening idiom
  • sound angry, happy, rude, etc. phrase
See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

bleak

UK /bliːk/ US /bliːk/

If a place is bleak, it is empty, and not welcoming or attractive.

About this

Blog

Flavour of the month (Newspaper idioms)

January 28, 2026 Read More

New Words

clip farming February 02, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   
    • Adjective 
      • rude (NOT POLITE)
      • rude (SUDDEN)
      • rude (SIMPLE)
      • rude health
  • American   
    • Adjective 
      • rude (NOT POLITE)
      • rude (SUDDEN)
    • Adverb 
      • rudely
    • Noun 
      • rudeness
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add rude to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add rude to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » Why Were You Being Rude