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
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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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
The churl’s view.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 July 2021
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
Noun
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Because of France’s social structure, the bulk of the financial strain fell to its peasants, while the top 1% was virtually exempt from paying taxes.—
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One of the most stunning exhibitions of the year put the spotlight on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which has a long history dating back to 1531, tied to four apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a peasant in Mexico.—
Noun
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Rather than just a simple miser, this movie portrays Scrooge as more of a ruthless businessman who believes he’s justified in his actions, making the character more relatable and redemptive.—
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And while those are all central elements of the story, most people forget that the transformation of the most famous miser in literary history, Ebenezer Scrooge, hinges on an incident with a young caroler that Scrooge recalls fairly early in the 1843 novella.—
Noun
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Which is to say, this isn’t the story of a greedy, materialistic man who suffers a crisis of conscience while trying to pry a priceless treasure away from an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.—
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Ricky develops romantic feelings for Chad even though Russ plays him as a soft-spoken, possibly dim rural hick who may well be a literal man-child.—
Noun
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For those with less-briny palates, a fine jerk chicken and a number of steak cuts are also available.—
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Mike’s older sister, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), is our entry point to Hawkins High; a pretty striver, she’s recently been distracted from academics by a fling with popular jerk Steve Harrington (Joe Keery).—
Noun
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Brewer depicts the world of music impersonators with a fair amount of affection, like the rodeo clowns of late 20th-century America.—
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Cirque du Soleil is known for its shows featuring acrobats, athletes and clowns – all doing spectacular feats.—
Noun
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Choose a crate that is a comfortable size for your dog.—
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The stretchy fabric allows for a full range of motion and remains in place through every downward dog and tree pose.—
Noun
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Clifton loved motorcycles and, as Hawkins said, was a country bumpkin who loved nature.—
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Ma and Pa Kent are the most stereotypical country bumpkins imaginable.—
Noun
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It was adapted into a huge hit movie starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, but the breakout characters were local yokels Ma and Pa Kettle, who went on to star in eight spinoff movies.—
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To the yokel who makes his donations in cash and is proud of himself for knowing what LEO stands for.—
Cite this Entry
“Churl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churl. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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