rude
/ɹud/adjective
rude is spelled R-U-D-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,667th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, rude means “Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rude?
| Letters | 4: R-U-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 18 times per million words; the 4,667th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rude?
Rude appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,667th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rude?
- UK /ɹuːd/
- US /ɹud/
- Australia /ɹʉːd/
Rude has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rude.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with rude
Sounds like: rood (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with rude?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rude from its last stressed vowel (/ud/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: dure.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rude
- ruder comparative
- rudest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rude mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.
This girl was so rude towards the cashier by screaming at him for no apparent reason.
- 2
Lacking refinement or skill; untaught; ignorant; raw.
- 3
Violent; abrupt; turbulent.
a rude awakening
- 4
Somewhat obscene, pornographic, offensive.
a rude film
- 5
Undeveloped, unskilled, inelegant.
- 6
Hearty, vigorous; found particularly in the phrase rude health.
- 7
Crudely made; primitive.
- 8
slangGood, awesome.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rude in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impoli, malpoli |
| German | grob, unhöflich, frech, unverschämt, garstig |
| Portuguese | rude, estúpido, grosseiro, grosso , vulgar, obsceno |
| Spanish | rudo, grosero, soez, patasucia, maleducado, cerril |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rude come from?
From Middle English rude, from Old French rude, ruide, from Latin rudis (“rough, raw, rude, wild, untilled”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).