vulgarity

noun

vul·​gar·​i·​ty ˌvəl-ˈger-rə-tē 

-ˈga-rə-

plural vulgarities

1

: something vulgar

2

: the quality or state of being vulgar

Synonyms

• coarseness
• commonness
• crassness
• crudeness
• crudity
• grossness
• indelicacy
• indelicateness
• lowness
• raffishness
• rawness
• roughness
• rudeness
• tastelessness

Examples of vulgarity in a Sentence

a comedian known for her vulgarity

I was shocked by the vulgarity of his language.

He uttered a vulgarity and was silent.

We have a policy against printing vulgarities in our magazine.

Recent Examples on the Web

The banal village tunes that Mahler altered into sinister mock vulgarities—did these not recall the raffish klezmer bands, the wandering musicians who played at shtetl weddings? —David Denby, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025

The real marvel, in this instance, being the avoidance of vulgarity. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2025

Attention-grabbing vulgarity aside, Pearl was talking hoops, not other things that have been central to Auburn men’s basketball discourse of late. —Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025

So cheers to Schulz—and Emma, who agreed to share their story—for helping to normalize IVF, even if vulgarity was his way of doing so! —Melissa Willets, Parents, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for vulgarity

• alterity
• asperity
• austerity
• celerity
• dexterity
• disparity
• hilarity
• molarity
• planarity
• polarity
• posterity
• prosperity

Kids Definition

vulgarity

noun

vul·​gar·​i·​ty ˌvəl-ˈgar-ət-ē 

plural vulgarities

1

: the quality or state of being vulgar

2

: something vulgar