adjective
raw
raw
adjective
1
Not cooked.
"The sushi is made with raw fish."
"Don't eat raw chicken — it needs to be cooked through."
2
Unprocessed or untreated; in its natural, original state.
"The factory imports raw cotton before spinning it into thread."
3
Sore and exposed, as skin that has been rubbed or scraped.
"Her heels were rubbed raw by the new shoes."
4
Inexperienced or untrained.
"The team is full of raw talent but needs coaching."
5
Presented without polish, editing, or filtering — direct and unfiltered, especially of emotion.
"The memoir is raw and painfully honest about her grief."
How to Use Raw
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishUncooked, unprocessed, or (figuratively) unpolished and exposed — whether skin, talent, or emotion.
Common pairings
raw fish
raw materials
raw talent
raw emotion
rubbed raw
Word Forms
rawer comparative, rawed past tense, raws plural, Raws plural, raws singular, rawest superlative
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Etymology
From Old English hreaw, going back to a Proto-Indo-European root connected to raw meat and blood — the same root that gives Latin crudus, source of English "crude."