Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy

Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy By Maeve Maddox Most negative English adjectives that begin with un- have a familiar antonym. For example: unhappy / happy unlucky / lucky unsuspecting / suspecting ungenerous / generous This post is about three adjectives whose positive forms are rarely used in modern English. uncouth: Awkward and uncultured. Examples of current usage of uncouth: The Malawi government has branded  pop  star Madonna an uncouth bully who exaggerates her charitable work in the country. After considering the likes of refined English actors such as Cary Grant and David Niven, the producers cast Sean Connery as Bond in the film. Fleming was appalled at the selection of the uncouth, 31-year-old Scottish actor, considering him to be the antithesis of his character.   The adjective couth (â€Å"known, familiar†) was very common in Old English. One spoke of â€Å"couth lands† and â€Å"couth customs† meaning â€Å"known lands† and â€Å"familiar customs.† The word couth came to mean cultured, genteel. Nowadays, when speakers use the word couth, it is with the latter meaning, but with self-consciously humorous intent. The second of these two examples of current usage of couth transforms the adjective into a noun: Well, orcs arent human, and I would suppose that they arent as  couth  as humans are. Im reminded that junior high  boys  are  not  known for their  couth. unkempt: uncombed (of hair, wool, etc.); neglected, not cared for, untrimmed. Here are examples of modern usage of unkempt: How can they let [NCIS character Deek] on camera with that  unkempt  mop? The role as a loudmouth  unkempt  woman easily was her finest personal performance to date. Criminals are attracted to  neighborhoods  that appear dirty or  unkempt. In Old English, kempt was a past form of cemban, â€Å"to comb.† In modern English, kempt is occasionally used humorously to mean combed or neat, as in the following examples: Ive had more  kempt looking  pros  change  the oil in my Maserati. [The apartment] is occasionally a little  messy but  not unkempt. Semi-kempt? His plaid shirt was half-untucked, and his usually kempt  comb-over was flying wildly into the air. unwieldy: Difficult to control, guide, move, manipulate, etc., by virtue of size, shape, or weight. In modern usage, the adjective unwieldy is applied to things, like tools or weapons, but originally, it referred to people. A â€Å"wieldy person† was nimble and had the agility to handle a weapon with skill. Although wieldy doesn’t make much of a showing in COCA or the Ngram Viewer, it is used in serious contexts. Wieldy is a brand name for a line of camera accessories, and the word is at home in discussions of tools and software: Is the handle attached separately or is the whole slicer and handle cast together as one piece?  It’s all one piece, and extremely wieldy. The great thing about the SKS was it could drop people at distance but you could also get up close and do well, partly because of the high fire-rate but also because it feels extremely wieldy.   Yes, I know – it’s hard to imagine anything bigger than 10 inches to be considered wieldy enough for practical use. Of the three supposed antonyms of uncouth, unkempt, and unwieldy, couth continues to be a word that provokes amusement, wieldy sounds like a â€Å"real† word, and- judging by this example I found in a blog about wedding planning, kempt may be slipping back into serious usage: You should make sure that your facial hair is neat and  kempt. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word FormsShore It Up