Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To make or shape with or as if with an ax: hew a path through the underbrush.
- v. To cut down with an ax; fell: hew an oak.
- v. To strike or cut; cleave.
- v. To cut something by repeated blows, as of an ax.
- v. To adhere or conform strictly; hold: hew to the line.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To cut; especially, to cut with an ax, a hatchet, or a sword with a swinging blow; cut with a heavy blow or with repeated blows: as, to hew down a tree.
- To form or shape by blows with a sharp instrument; cut roughly into form; shape out by cutting: often with out: as, to hew timber; to hew out a sepulcher from a rock.
- To cut; inflict cutting blows.
- n. Destruction by cutting down.
- n. An obsolete spelling of hue.
- n. An obsolete spelling of hue.
Wiktionary
- n. obsolete hue; colour
- n. obsolete shape; form
- v. transitive To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down.
- v. transitive To shape; to form.
- v. transitive, US To act according to, to conform to; usually construed with to.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To cut with an ax; to fell with a sharp instrument; -- often with
down , oroff . - v. To form or shape with a sharp instrument; to cut; hence, to form laboriously; -- often with
out . - v. To cut in pieces; to chop; to hack.
- n. obsolete Destruction by cutting down.
- n. obsolete Hue; color.
- n. obsolete Shape; form.
WordNet 3.0
- v. strike with an axe; cut down, strike
- v. make or shape as with an axe
Etymologies
- From Middle English hewen, from Old English hēawan, from Proto-Germanic *hawwanan, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂u- (“to strike, hew, forge”). Cognate with Scots hew, hewe, West Frisian houwe, Dutch houwen, German hauen, Swedish hugga, Icelandic höggva; and with Latin cūdō ("strike, beat, pound, forge"), Lithuanian káuti ("to beat, forge"), Albanian hu ("a club, pole"). See also hoe. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English hewen, from Old English hēawan; see kau- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“HY has the same relation to y as HW to w, and represents a sound like that heard in English hew, huge; h in Quenya eht, iht had the same sound.”
“October 21, 2009 at 6:01 am an i will hug yew an squeeze yew and call hew jorge!”
I lub yu! I missed yu! - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“hew" -- "hew," which was answered from a little distance, and looking round, we discovered another roof with an ape seated under it.”
“(He defends 'hew') ... at any rate whatever is markedly featured in stone or what is like stone is most naturally said to be hewn, and to _shape_, itself, means in old English to hew and the Hebrew _bara_ to create, even, properly means to hew.”
“What's especially notable about this campaign is that it didn't simply hew to whatever centrist, business-leaning line-of-the-week that the White House was promoting in promoting a "reform" agenda -- as did the progressive coalitions supporting health care and financial reform -- but supported an independent agenda that went beyond what the White House seemed willing to do initially.”
“All I know is of the flesh, the hew and the thrust of pleasure.”
“Some suggest we hew perfectly to the code of journalistic ethics, which forbid both promises.”
What do Wine Critics and Bloggers "Owe" Wineries That Send Them Samples?
“Afterwards, the Republicans will broadcast their response and politicians and pundits alike will flood the airwaves with their trenchant analyses which will -- surprise, surprise -- hew strictly to party lines and/or political agendas.”
The Huffington Post: Rob Densen: Congress: Save Our Lungs and Spare Us Yours
“His abrupt departure leaves Rachel Maddow, who may want to be careful with hew bosses at Comcast.”
The Guardian: Keith Olbermann abruptly dropped by NBC | Richard Adams
“Can a remake hew closely to the original and still feel utterly fresh?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hew’.
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Olde Englisc
English words of Anglo-Saxon origin.
onslaught, slain, clove, clave, thrice, nincompoop, scorn, storm, scant, lurk, beneath, atop and 143 more...
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EN - 3-letter words of the pattern CVC
With the exception of abbreviations and mosaic words all types of words (proper names, past tense of verbs, etc.) are allowed.
for, was, not, his, but, has, had, can, her, him, new, now and 339 more...
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LIT - Ulysses - key words and phrases
money cowrie, bedraggle, omphalos, ineluctable, postprandial, bladderwrack, modality barnacle..., loofah, shipworm, cither, embattle, Malachi and 503 more...
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Familiar
Just a list of words
fulminate, unctuous, malediction, lumpenproletariat, descry, surfeit, sententious, supernumerary, unabashed, picayune, obliterate, decry and 109 more...
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EN - archaic words
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 328 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Naresh_Gre2
convoke, cosset, coterie, declaim, distaff, doff, dovetail, droll, dyspeptic, egress, ersatz, euphemism and 108 more...
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3-letter Scrabble Words
aah, aal, aas, aba, abo, abs, aby, ace, act, add, ado, ads and 995 more...
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Undo
A list of terms that denote separating one thing from another, or deconstructing a thing into its parts or to a former state. E.g., untie, divorce, unscramble.
untie, divorce, unscramble, disunite, disjoin, undo, separate, disassemble, uncouple, unhitch, disassociate, disaffiliate and 185 more...
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Chop
dhar, chop, ax, cleaver, chopfallen, dolabriform, securiform, dolabrate, barong, machete, froe, guloc and 44 more...
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November Words-10031
Godspeed, odious, affinity, cicatrix, air lift, domino, dominance, eggplant, donkey, tug boat, trifle, sculpture and 8 more...
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Magoosh GRE
its a list of words borrowed from Magoosh GRE blog ,an indispensable resource for GRE test takers.
inimitable, exiguity, myriad, cornucopia, surfeit, glut, deluge, opaque, pellucid, grandiloquent, turgid, gadfly and 106 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (H)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
haberdashery, hailstone, halcyon, halibut, halo, hamadryad, hammock, harangue, harbour, harebell, harlequin, harp and 104 more...
Tweets
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