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Definition of raw adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

raw

adjective
 
/rɔː/
 
/rɔː/
Idioms
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    food

  1. not cooked
    • raw meat
    • raw eggs/vegetables
    • These fish are often eaten raw.
    • The tigers were fed raw chicken bones.
  2. materials

  3. [usually before noun] in its natural state; not yet changed, used or made into something else
    • raw sewage
    • raw sugar/milk/cotton
    • Iron ore is the main raw ingredient in steel.
  4. information

  5. [usually before noun] not yet organized into a form in which it can be easily used or understood
    • This information is only raw data and will need further analysis.
  6. emotions/qualities

  7. [usually before noun] powerful and natural; not trained or showing control
    • songs full of raw emotion
    • the raw power of imagination
    • He started with nothing but raw talent and determination.
  8. part of body

  9. red and painful because the skin has been damaged
    • There were raw patches on her feet where the shoes had rubbed.
    • His throat was raw and painful.
    • The skin on her feet had been rubbed raw.
    Synonyms painfulpainfulsore raw inflamed excruciating burning itchyThese words all describe something that causes you physical pain.painful causing you physical pain. Painful can describe a part of the body, illness, injury, treatment or death: Is your knee still painful?a series of painful injectionsa slow and painful death sore (of a part of the body) painful and often red, especially because of infection or because a muscle has been used too much:
    • a sore throat
    • Their feet were sore after hours of walking.
    raw (of a part of the body) red and painful, for example because of an infection or because the skin has been damaged:
    • The skin on her feet had been rubbed raw.
    inflamed (of a part of the body) painful, red and hot because of an infection or injury:
    • The wound had become inflamed.
    excruciating extremely painful. Excruciating can describe feelings, treatments or death but not parts of the body: an excruciating throat/​back/​knee. burning painful and giving a feeling of being very hot:
    • She felt a burning sensation in her throat.
    itchy giving an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch; having this feeling:
    • an itchy rash
    • I feel itchy all over.
    Patterns
    • sore/​inflamed/​itchy eyes
    • raw/​inflamed/​itchy skin
    • a painful/​an excruciating death
    • a painful/​burning sensation
    • excruciating/​burning pain
  10. person

  11. [usually before noun] new to a job or an activity and therefore without experience or skill
    • a raw beginner
    • raw recruits (= for example, in the army)
  12. weather

  13. very cold
    • a raw north wind
    • It had been a wet, raw winter.
  14. description

  15. honest, direct and sometimes shocking
    • a raw portrayal of working-class life
    • (North American English) raw language (= containing many sexual details)
  16. Word OriginOld English hrēaw, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rauw and German roh, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek kreas ‘raw flesh’.
Idioms
a raw deal
  1. the fact of somebody being treated unfairly
    • Older workers often get a raw deal.
See raw in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee raw in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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