raw

1 adjective

1 FOOD not cooked: raw meat | raw carrot

2 INFORMATION raw data/statistics etc information that has not been arranged, checked, or prepared for use

3 SKIN a part of your body that is raw is red and sore: My hands were raw with cold.

4 MATERIALS raw cotton, sugar, wool etc are in their natural state and have not yet been prepared for use

—see also: raw materials

5 NOT EXPERIENCED not experienced or not yet fully trained: Most of our soldiers were raw recruits.

6 touch/hit a raw nerve to upset someone by something you say: In mentioning his departure I knew I had touched a raw nerve.

7 get a raw deal to be unfairly treated: Women tend to get a raw deal when it comes to pay.

8 WEATHER very cold and wet: A raw wind chilled him to the bone.

9 EMOTIONS/QUALITIES raw emotions or qualities are strong and natural, but not completely developed or controlled: Katie was surprised by her own raw courage and endurance. | the singer's raw, husky voice

10 LANGUAGE AmE informal containing a lot of sexual details

11 DESCRIPTIONS giving the unpleasant facts, without trying to make them seem more acceptable: a raw account of poverty in the cities

— rawness noun (U) 2 noun

1 life/nature in the raw the way humans or animals live in their natural state including all the violence and cruelty: Her films portray nature in the raw.

2 in the raw AmE informal not wearing any clothes: She sunbathes in the raw.

3 catch/touch sb on the raw BrE to say or do something that upsets someone