raw

SayRAW/ɹɔ/UK/ɹɔː/

18 meanings of raw

1
adjective
Of food, not cooked; kept or eaten in its uncooked state. Also, relating to a diet made up entirely of uncooked food.
Many sushi dishes feature raw fish sliced very thin.
The recipe calls for blending raw cashews into a smooth cream.
UsageCommon before a noun (raw fish) and after verbs such as eat and serve: eat carrots raw.
Similaruncooked
Oppositecooked
2
natural (materials)adjective
In a natural, unrefined state; not treated, processed, or otherwise altered from its original form.
The mill buys raw cotton and spins it into thread for clothing.
Sculptors choose blocks of raw marble before any shaping begins.
UsageCommon in raw materials and raw sewage.
Similarunrefined, unprocessed, untreated, crude, natural
Oppositerefined, processed, finished
Note
Its fixed phrases are industrial: raw materials, raw cane sugar, raw sewage. Raw sewage shows that the word passes no judgment on quality. It says only that the thing has not yet been fully refined or treated. In the sugar trade the adjective even became a noun, an unrefined sugar, with its own plural, raws.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Raw can describe a substance that has already undergone processing: raw cane sugar is partially refined at a mill before further purification. sugar.ca
Raw is also a sugar-trade noun for unrefined sugar, with the plural raws. en.wiktionary.org
3
not yet editedadjective
Uncorrected and not yet analyzed; in the form in which it was first gathered.
The raw survey responses still contained duplicate and invalid entries.
Analysts rarely publish raw figures before adjusting for known errors.
UsageCommon in raw data and raw figures.
Similarunprocessed, unanalyzed, uncorrected
Oppositeprocessed
Note
In statistics the word marks the stage before anything has been done. Raw data later become corrected, adjusted or analyzed data. Outside the lab it often carries a quiet warning. The Economist in 2010 sets "the raw numbers" against what they fail to show, the cartels' power over Mexican society. Raw figures count things, but they do not yet explain them.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
A 2010 Economist article uses “the raw numbers” while contrasting the numbers with the cartels’ power over Mexican society. en.wiktionary.org
4
adjective
Crude or unrefined in quality; rough, uneven, and unsophisticated rather than finished or polished.
The demo recording was raw and unpolished, yet full of energy.
Critics admired the raw, untrained power of her debut painting.
Similarrough, crude, unpolished, unrefined
Oppositepolished, refined, sophisticated
5
adjective
Of an emotion or personality, expressed openly and intensely; undisguised and strongly felt.
The crowd responded to the raw emotion in her performance.
His letter laid bare a raw longing he had never admitted.
UsageCommon before a noun: raw emotion, raw grief, raw anger.
Similarnaked, intense, undisguised, unrestrained
Oppositerestrained, guarded
6
rubbed soreadjective
Of skin or another body surface, sore, tender, or inflamed, especially from being rubbed, scraped, or chafed.
Days of hiking left her feet blistered and raw.
The rope burn left a raw patch across his palm.
UsageCommon in rubbed raw and scraped raw: hands rubbed raw by the rope.
Similarsore, tender
7
brutally honestadjective
Honest and unflinching in presenting unpleasant facts, conditions, or experiences without softening them.
The documentary offers a raw portrayal of poverty in the region.
His memoir is praised for its raw honesty about addiction.
Similarfrank, candid, unflinching, brutal, blunt
Oppositesanitized
8
not yet trainedadjective
Lacking experience or training; new to a role or activity and not yet developed.
The sergeant drilled the raw recruits until they moved as one unit.
He joined the firm as a raw graduate with no real-world experience.
UsageCommon in raw recruits and a raw beginner.
Similarinexperienced, green, untrained, new, fresh
Oppositeexperienced, seasoned

Less common meanings

9
cold and dampadjective
Of weather, unpleasantly cold and damp, as a gray, windy winter day can be.
A raw wind off the sea chilled everyone on the pier.
The funeral took place on a raw, drizzly afternoon.
UsageCommon with wind and day: a raw wind, a raw morning.
Similarbitter, biting, bleak, chilly, cold
Oppositemild, balmy
Note
The weather sense has kept literary company for four centuries. It appears in Shakespeare's "raw and gusty day" in Julius Caesar (1599), in Charlotte Brontë's "raw twilight" in Jane Eyre (1847), and again in Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (1961).
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 7 facts
The weather sense has a literary history spanning approximately four centuries. folger.edu
“raw and gusty day” occurs in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; Cassius speaks the words in Act 1, scene 2. folger.edu
Julius Caesar was first published in 1623. The year 1599 refers to its first performance. en.wiktionary.org
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre contains “raw twilight”; this is Jane’s first-person narration. gutenberg.org
Jane Eyre was first published in 1847. en.wikipedia.org
Joseph Heller wrote Catch-22, first published in 1961. en.wikipedia.org
Catch-22 contains the weather sense of “raw,” describing rain. en.wiktionary.org
10
vulgaradjective
Of language, crude, unrefined, or insensitive, especially in its treatment of sexual matters.
The script's raw dialogue earned it an adults-only rating.
Her stand-up act is famous for its raw, unfiltered humor.
Similarcrude, coarse, vulgar, bawdy, earthy
Oppositeclean
11
unrefined sugarnoununcountable
Sugar in its unrefined state; also, a batch of it.
Traders watch the price of raws closely, because the cost of unrefined sugar shapes what refiners charge for white sugar.
Most of the raws processed at the plant come in by ship and sit in huge warehouses until they are melted down.
Note
The Commercial and Financial Chronicle of 1939 quotes "London raws" at a price alongside sugar futures. To refiners, raws are their starting material. The American Chemical Society's Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (1921) describes them being melted to about 20 Brix so they could be filtered.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The Commercial and Financial Chronicle in 1939 quotes London raws at a price alongside sugar futures. en.wiktionary.org
The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry was published by the American Chemical Society in 1921. books.google.com
Raw sugar is refiners' starting material; the cited journal describes melting raws to about 20 Brix to facilitate filtration. en.wiktionary.org
12
touchy spotnounfigurativelycountable
A point on which a person is especially sensitive and easily wounded.
Her offhand comment about his father touched him on the raw, and he left the room.
Any mention of the divorce touched her on the raw.
UsageMostly in touch someone on the raw.
Similarnerve
Note
Harold Heslop's Goaf (English edition 1934, first published in Russian in 1926) has "Bill had touched him upon the raw," and Tom's anger follows at once. The image comes from the galled sore: pressing on an open wound, carried over to feelings.
13
unprotected (sex)adjectiveslang
Of sexual intercourse, performed without a condom.
Worried after having raw sex with a new partner, she booked a test at the clinic.
A single night of raw sex led to weeks of anxious waiting for test results.
Similarbareback, unprotected
14
nounslangcountable
An original, untranslated copy of an anime episode, manga chapter, or similar work, shared before fans clean, subtitle, or translate it.
Impatient viewers grabbed the raw hours after the episode aired.
Translators work from a raw to produce a subtitled release.
Note
Fandom borrowed the word straight from the "unprocessed" meaning. A raw is the episode before anyone has worked on it, with no fan subtitles added.
15
adjectiveobsolete
Not covered; bare; stripped of hair or any other covering.
Note
Obsolete now. A modern reader meeting Spenser's "with scull all raw" in The Faerie Queene (1596) should read it as bald, not sore. Today, raw on a scalp would suggest the chafed, skinned meaning instead. Keep this sense for reading older texts rather than for your own writing.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The bare or bald sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
Spenser used the exact words quoted in The Faerie Queene, Book V, Canto II, stanza 11. talus.artsci.wustl.edu
1596 is the first-publication year of Book V, containing this quotation; the first three books appeared in 1590. gla.ac.uk
The quoted character's scalp is bare, supporting the interpretation bald. talus.artsci.wustl.edu
16
go without protectionadverbslang
Without a condom, during sexual intercourse.
He insisted on never going raw with a new partner before testing.
Doing it raw left both of them anxious about the risk.
UsageUsually after go or do it: go raw.
Similarbareback
17
penetrate (no condom)verbslangtransitive
To sexually penetrate a partner without using a condom.
He refused to raw anyone he had only just met.
She later regretted letting him raw her without discussing the risks.
18
noundated
A chafed, galled patch of skin or flesh, rubbed open and slow to heal.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English rawe, from Old English hrēaw ("raw, uncooked"), going back through Proto-Germanic *hrawaz to Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- ("raw meat, fresh blood"). It is related to Dutch rauw, German roh, Latin crūdus ("raw, bloody"), and Russian кровь ("blood").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Raw descends from Middle English rawe and Old English hrēaw, meaning raw or uncooked. en.wiktionary.org
Old English hrēaw descends from Proto-Germanic *hrawaz. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *hrawaz derives from Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂-, glossed raw meat or fresh blood. en.wiktionary.org
Raw is related to Dutch rauw, German roh, Latin crūdus and Russian кровь, with the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org