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View synonyms for

raw

[raw]

adjective

rawer, rawest 
  1. uncooked, as articles of food.

    a raw carrot.

  2. not having undergone processes of preparing, dressing, finishing, refining, or manufacture.

    raw cotton.

    Synonyms: , ,
  3. unnaturally or painfully exposed, as flesh, by removal of the skin or natural integument.

  4. painfully open, as a sore or wound.

  5. crude in quality or character; not tempered or refined by art or taste.

    raw humor.

  6. ignorant, inexperienced, or untrained.

    a raw recruit.

    Synonyms: , , ,
  7. brutally or grossly frank.

    a raw portrayal of human passions.

  8. brutally harsh or unfair.

    a raw deal; receiving raw treatment from his friends.

  9. disagreeably damp and chilly, as the weather or air.

    a raw, foggy day at the beach.

    Synonyms: ,
  10. not diluted, as alcoholic spirits.

    raw whiskey.

    Synonyms: ,
  11. unprocessed or unevaluated.

    raw data.



noun

  1. a sore or irritated place, as on the flesh.

  2. unrefined sugar, oil, etc.

raw

/ ɔː /

adjective

  1. (of food) not cooked

    raw onion

  2. (prenominal) in an unfinished, natural, or unrefined state; not treated by manufacturing or other processes

    raw materials for making steel

    raw brick

  3. (of an edge of material) unhemmed; liable to fray

  4. (of the skin, a wound, etc) having the surface exposed or abraded, esp painfully

  5. ignorant, inexperienced, or immature

    a raw recruit

  6. (prenominal) not selected or modified

    raw statistics

  7. frank or realistic

    a raw picture of the breakdown of a marriage

  8. (of spirits) undiluted

  9. coarse, vulgar, or obscene

  10. recently done; fresh

    raw paintwork

  11. (of the weather) harshly cold and damp

  12. informalunfair; unjust (esp in the phrase a raw deal )

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informala sensitive point

    his criticism touched me on the raw

    1. informalwithout clothes; naked

    2. in a natural or unmodified state

      life in the raw

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • rawish adjective
  • rawishness noun
  • rawly adverb
  • rawness noun
  • half-raw adjective
  • semiraw adjective
  • semirawly adverb
  • semirawness noun
  • ˈɱ adverb
  • ˈɲԱ noun
  • ˈɾ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of raw1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hrēaw, hrǣw; cognate with Dutch rauw, German roh; akin to Latin ūܲ “raw” ( crude ), cruor “blood,” Greek é “raw flesh” ( creatine )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of raw1

Old English hreaw ; related to Old High German hrao , Old Norse raw, Latin cruor thick blood, Greek kreas meat
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in the raw,

    1. in the natural, uncultivated, or unrefined state.

      nature in the raw.

    2. Informal. in the nude; naked.

      sunbathing in the raw.

In addition to the idiom beginning with raw, also see in the altogether (raw).
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Synonym Study

Raw, crude, rude refer to something not in a finished or highly refined state. Raw applies particularly to material not yet changed by a process, by manufacture, or by preparation for consumption: raw cotton; raw leather. Crude refers to that which still needs refining: crude petroleum. Rude refers to what is still in a condition of rough simplicity or in a makeshift or roughly made form: rude agricultural implements; the rude bridge that arched the flood.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This format—”what I did in therapy today,” more or less—is raw and occasionally repetitive.

From

There were hours and hours of raw footage.

From

You feel the tension and the emotion, and it’s raw and primal — even if you are someone who only casually pays attention to U2, it’s hard not to be moved by it.

From

LaMarita recommended eating baby radish greens raw since they tend to have a less bitter flavor profile compared to mature radish greens, which are best served cooked.

From

Three years ago, the image of a distraught Coco Gauff crying under a towel was one of the rawest moments from a one-sided French Open women's final.

From

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When To Use

does raw mean?

Raw describes something that hasn’t been cooked, as in The butcher put a pile of raw meat on the table.Raw can also describe something that hasn’t been processed or refined, as in Raw cotton must be cleaned of plant parts before it can be made into thread or fabric. Raw also refers to skin that was painfully removed, as in The uncomfortable pants rubbed my knees raw. As well, raw can refer to someone who lacks experience or training, as in The rookie detective was too raw to be of any help to the veteran investigator. Raw is rarely used as a noun. It is sometimes used in the idiom in the raw, meaning a natural, unprocessed state or, more informally, referring to something done while naked.Example: The diners became very ill after eating chicken that was more raw that cooked.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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