Skip to main content
hand-hewn

hand-hewn

1 7.8
Made by hand with an axe or chisel, often rough
  • adjective
  • /ˈhændˌhjun/
translation icon : tallado a mano
  • The artisan proudly displayed a hand-hewn table crafted from oak, showcasing its natural, rustic appearance.
  • hand-hewn beams
  • hand-hewn logs
  • hand-hewn timbers

Examples

  • The beams were hand-hewn and massive; the siding had faded to an attractive silvery gray.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Furniture was minimal, the lines straight, practical, with the look of being hand-hewn.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The orchard has been getting calls from antique dealers and furniture makers, all wanting to get their hands on those hand-hewn, axe-cut beams.

    Blog text (16)
  • In the Steed cabin, dirt and dust on one's clothes had little effect on the hand-hewn wooden benches and stools that served as their furniture.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • They're they're hand hewn and clearly loved and they have the patina of thousands of booger filled children's hands on them.

  • The historic museum featured hand-hewn beams in its ceiling, giving the space a charming and authentic feel.

  • Visitors admired the hand-hewn wooden sculptures that adorned the garden, each uniquely shaped and artistically rough.

Synonyms

handmade
vshand-hewn
255 2.9

An item that a person makes with their hands instead of a machine, often with care

implies manual heavy-tool shaping that is rough rather than finely finished
hewn
vshand-hewn
7 7.2

Shaped with heavy tools like an axe and chisel

focuses on manual cutting that usually leaves a rough surface
hand-crafted
vshand-hewn
4 3.9

Made by hand rather than by machine

leans toward heavy-tool manual cutting that leaves a rough surface
roughhewn
vshand-hewn
8.2

Stone or wood that has a not smooth surface made with simple tools

highlights manual heavy-tool shaping rather than just roughness
rough-cut
vshand-hewn
  • Specialized
4.9

Shaped but not smoothed or fully finished

adds that the shaping is done manually with heavy tools often leaving roughness
handworked
vshand-hewn
4.0

Made by hand, not by machine

specifies use of heavy tools and a rough finished surface
handwrought
vshand-hewn
  • Literature
7.8

A person makes it by hand rather than by machine

stresses heavy-tool rough shaping rather than careful craft finish

Antonyms

1 3.1

Made by a machine rather than by hand

How Rough

saw-toothed
1 6.4
rough
164 1.0
hand-hewn
1 7.8
smooth
256 1.0

Surface Forms

hand-hewn positive

Morphology

hand-hewn = hand + hew (transparent) = hand + hewn

The adjective is a direct compound of 'hand' + past participle 'hewn' meaning 'cut/shaped by hand', so the meaning follows standard compounding logic.

Etymology

Hand-hewn comes from the parts hand and hewn, and hewn means 'cut' by an axe or a chisel. Think of rough beams or stones shaped by a person with big tools, so hand-hewn means cut or shaped by hand and often has a rough, natural look.