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raw (rô)
Share:
adj. raw·er, raw·est
1.
a. Uncooked: raw meat.
b. Being in a natural condition; not processed or refined: raw wool.
c. Not finished, covered, or coated: raw wood.
d. Not having been subjected to adjustment, treatment, or analysis: raw data; the raw cost of production.
e. Undeveloped or unused: raw land.
f. Recently finished; fresh: raw plaster.
2. Inexperienced or untrained: a raw youth; raw recruits.
3.
a. Having subcutaneous tissue exposed: a raw wound.
b. Inflamed; sore: a raw throat.
4. Unpleasantly damp and chilly: raw weather.
5.
a. Powerfully impressive; stark: raw beauty; raw talent.
b. Direct in description and explicit in realistic detail: the film's raw depiction of urban poverty.
c. Crude, vulgar, or coarse: raw language.
6. Nude; naked: was standing there raw.
7.
a. Engaged in without the protection of a condom.
b. Done in a rough or unrestrained manner. Used of sex.
adv.
Slang Without a condom; unprotected.
Idioms:
in the raw
1. In a crude or unrefined state: nature in the raw.
2. Nude; naked.
raw deal
An instance of unfair treatment: got a raw deal from our insurance company.
[Middle English rau, from Old English hrēaw; see kreuə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
rawly adv.
rawness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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