adjective / noun
crude
KROOD/kruːd/
Not refined or carefully processed.
The crude wooden stool has splintery surfaces, uneven joints, and unpolished legs.
Etymology
Latin crudus described something raw or unprepared. That physical lack of preparation extended to a lack of social polish, giving the sense of rough or tactless behavior.
In context
… the crude smoothing down on her face in the background in Photoshop stands out against the more contrasty pixelation
More examples
- The tanker carries crude from the port to the refinery.
- Workers refine crude sugar to remove impurities.
- The lab purifies a crude extract from the leaves.
Forms
crude · cruder · crudest
Similar words
- unrefined
- Specifically emphasizes that impurities have not been removed.
- raw
- More broadly describes materials before processing or food before cooking.
- unprocessed
- Emphasizes that a material has not undergone treatment or preparation.