noun
yokel
YOH-kuhl
noun
1
An unsophisticated or naive person from the countryside, often used dismissively.
"The city slickers laughed at what they assumed was a yokel from the sticks."
How to Use Yokel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA somewhat insulting term for someone seen as unrefined or provincial, usually from a rural area.
When to use it
Informal and often mocking or condescending — avoid it in respectful or formal writing.
Word Forms
yokels plural
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Etymology
First recorded around 1812; possibly from a German nickname related to "Jakob," or from an old English dialect word for the green woodpecker.