churlish Syllabification: (churl·ish)Pronunciation: /ˈCHərliSH/Translate churlish | into German | into Italian Definition of churlish adjective rude in a mean-spirited and surly way:it seems churlish to complainDerivatives churlishly adverb churlishness noun Origin: Old English cierlisc, ceorlisc (see churl, -ish1)churlish in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of churlish in the British & World English dictionary