2 syllables: Un, couth. Stress on couth.
uhn-KOOTH
/ənˈkuːθ/
Uncouth is pronounced uhn-KOOTH (/ənˈkuːθ/). It has two syllables (Un-couth), with the stress on "couth". Uncouth is an adjective describing someone or something lacking good manners, refinement, or grace; crude or socially awkward in appearance or behavior. It conveys a sense of roughness or ill-bred behavior rather than deliberate hostility. The term often implies behavior that is outside social norms of civility and tact.
adjectiveUncouth is an adjective describing someone or something lacking good manners, refinement, or grace; crude or socially awkward in appearance or behavior. It conveys a sense of roughness or ill-bred behavior rather than deliberate hostility. The term often implies behavior that is outside social norms of civility and tact.
"Her uncouth remarks at the dinner party shocked the guests."
"The bustling market had a lively, albeit uncouth, atmosphere."
"He gave an uncouth laugh, which drew disapproving glances from the room."
US/UK: /ənˈkuːθ/. Start with a schwa, then the stressed /ˈkuː/ as in 'coo', and finish with /θ/ as the unvoiced 'th' in 'think'. In careful speech, ensure your tongue tip lightly touches the upper teeth for /θ/. IPA components: /ə/ + /n/ + /ˈk/ + /uː/ + /θ/. A quick audio cue: 'uh-n-KOO-th' with the stress on the second syllable. You’ll want a clean, voiceless dental fricative at the end.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (saying un-COOTH), pronouncing /uː/ as a short /ʊ/ as in 'put', and adding an extra vowel before /θ/ (like /ˈkjuːθ/). Correct by: keeping the vowel long in the stressed syllable /ˈkuː/ and ending with a precise dental fricative /θ/. Practice with minimal pairs like 'cool' vs 'coolth' to feel the end fricative. Ensure your tongue tip is at the upper teeth and air escapes quietly for /θ/.
US and UK share /ənˈkuːθ/ with stress on 'couth'. The main difference is rhoticity: US speakers may have a more pronounced rhotic intonation around the word, but /r/ is not present in uncouth. Australian English aligns with non-rhotic tendencies, often weakening r-like cues and maintaining /ɒ/ vs /uː/ differences. The final /θ/ remains voiceless dental; some speakers substitute /f/ or /t/ in casual speech, especially in rapid conversation. Pay attention to the length of /uː/ and the dental fricative quality across regions.
The difficulty lies in the combination: a stressed long back vowel /uː/ followed by a voiceless dental fricative /θ/. Many speakers struggle with keeping the mid-back vowel pure while transitioning to the thin, spread-tongue /θ/ without inserting an additional vowel. Also, the initial schwa before the stressed syllable can be reduced in fast speech, causing confusion with 'un'. Practice slow, precise articulation to stabilize the sequence /ənˈkuːθ/.
Uncouth has a prominent stress on the second syllable and a pronounced 'th' at the end, not silent letters. The grapheme 'th' corresponds to /θ/. The challenge is not silent letters but correct dental fricative production after a high back vowel; the 'un' prefix is unstressed and reduces to a schwa. Mastery involves keeping the /ən/ light and letting the /ˈkuːθ/ drive the focal point of the word.
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Uncouth derives from Middle English uncouth meaning unknown or strange, from Old English un- (a negation) + cūðe (known, known by reputation), from cūþ meaning known or familiar, akin to German kennt. The sense shifted in the late Middle Ages to describe lack of refinement or civility, i.e., behavior not known to civilized society. By the 16th century, uncouth described crude manners rather than mere unfamiliarity, aligning with modern usage. The word’s trajectory reflects social expectations of decorum: what is considered courteous or refined is encoded in language, and uncouth marks deviation from that norm. First known literary attestations appear in early modern English texts, where scholars and satirists used uncouth to condemn crude speech and actions in polite society, tracking a shift from geographic or unfamiliar to moral and behavioral judgment. In contemporary use, uncouth typically signals roughness in manners, speech, or appearance without necessarily endorsing malice. The word remains common in formal critique and literary registers, preserving a clinical nuance beyond casual slang. 200-300 words.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Uncouth" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Uncouth"
-uth sounds
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