Rude vs. Rued

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Grammarist

Rude and rued are are two commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words rude and rued, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.

Rude means offensive, ill-mannered, impolite. Rude may also be used to mean something that is rough-hewn, in which case it is said to be rudely made. Rude is an adjective, related words are ruder, rudest. The word rude is derived from the Latin word rudis, which means crude or ignorant.

Rued is the past tense of rue, a verb that means to have remorse, to bitterly regret. Related words are rues, ruing. The word rue is derived from the Old English word hreowan, which means to distress or make sorry.

Examples

My concern is that he has a way of interacting with people — including myself — that could be described as rude. (The Houston Chronicle)

Whether they come in all caps, exclamation marks, silence or snark, rude e-mails are on the rise. (Scientific American)

The Portuguese playmaker admitted United did enough to win on the night, but rued those missed opportunities. (The Manchester Evening News)

“At least 1,000 auto-rickshaw drivers across the State have changed profession and begun selling vegetables, milk or fish for a living,” rued M Sivaji, general secretary, CITU Auto Federation, adding that autos are turning into push carts in the State. (The New Indian Express)

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