underbred
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
underbred (comparative more underbred, superlative most underbred)
- Of inferior breeding or upbringing; vulgar, lacking in manners or finesse.
- 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter CDXXIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:
- The art of governing these under-bred varlets lies more in the dignity of looks than in words […] .
- 1923, H. G. Wells, Men Like Gods:
- Himself, he felt the most underbred of all; he was afraid of these Utopians: snobbish and abject before them, he was like a mannerless earthy lout in a drawing-room, and he was bitterly ashamed of his own abjection.
- (of animals) Not purebred; of an inferior strain.
- 1902, Frank Sherman Peer, Cross country with horse and hound:
- I prefer both sire and dam to be well-bred, but a well-bred mare and an underbred horse will produce a faster animal than a thoroughbred horse and an underbred mare.
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of "breeding"): thoroughbred
Verb edit
underbred
- simple past and past participle of underbreed