Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Shaped or cut by chopping: Describes something, typically wood or stone, that has been formed or cut using a heavy, sharp tool like an axe, adze, or chisel. It often implies a rough, handcrafted quality.
   • Roughly formed: Can describe something that is crudely or roughly shaped by such means.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The cabin was constructed from hewn logs.
  • They sat on a bench made from a hewn tree trunk.
  • The statue was carved from a single block of hewn marble.

Advanced Usage

• "rough-hewn": An adjective meaning roughly or crudely shaped by cutting or chopping. It can also describe a person's character as unsophisticated or unrefined.
  • The rough-hewn beams gave the room a rustic charm.
  • He had a rough-hewn honesty that was very appealing.

Variants and Related Words

• Hew (verb): To chop or cut with an axe, pick, or other heavy tool.
  • The settlers had to hew a clearing out of the dense forest.
• Hewer (noun): A person who hews, especially one who cuts coal from a seam.
• Hewn stone (noun phrase): Stone that has been shaped by cutting or dressing.

Synonyms

• Chopped
• Cut
• Carved (though "carved" often implies more detail and finer tools)
• Shaped

Related Phrases

• To hew to: (Phrasal verb) To adhere strictly or conform to a principle, standard, or line.
  • The company hewed to its traditional values.
  • He hewed to the party line in his speech.

Notes on Usage

• "Hewn" is primarily used as an adjective. Its base verb is "hew."
• The past participle of the verb "hew" is either "hewed" or "hewn." "Hewn" is often preferred when used adjectivally (e.g., ) or in passive constructions implying a finished state (e.g., ). "Hewed" is also correct, especially for the simple past tense (e.g., ).

Adjective

1. cut or shaped with hard blows of a heavy cutting instrument like an ax or chisel
   • a house built of hewn logs
   • rough-hewn stone
   • a path hewn through the underbrush