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Synonym Chooser

How is the word vulgar different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of vulgar are coarse, gross, obscene, and ribald. While all these words mean "offensive to good taste or morals," vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding.

a loud vulgar belch

When is it sensible to use coarse instead of vulgar?

While the synonyms coarse and vulgar are close in meaning, coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language.

found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive

When might gross be a better fit than vulgar?

The synonyms gross and vulgar are sometimes interchangeable, but gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

In what contexts can obscene take the place of vulgar?

While in some cases nearly identical to vulgar, obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters.

obscene language not allowed on the air

Where would ribald be a reasonable alternative to vulgar?

In some situations, the words ribald and vulgar are roughly equivalent. However, ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vulgar Arena, like the adjacent club called Circus, was established by a couple of gay and Latino entrepreneurs as open-to-everyone party spaces — a radical departure during an era when discos were defined more by the vulgar discrimination of velvet ropes and vain bouncers policing entry. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025 Open-toed shoes, while tempting, are considered vulgar in certain circles. Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 26 May 2025 The survey examined a minimum of 1,000 comments per team and found less than 1% of posts made by fans of the Dallas Wings contained swear words or vulgar comments. Alyssa Cooper, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 May 2025 The program was incredibly close-knit—kids practiced most days of the week, and hung out almost exclusively with their fellow All-Stars, as well as with the vulgar, charismatic teacher who structured their lives. Air Mail, 3 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for vulgar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vulgar
Adjective
  • Does the Trump administration really want to sink that low?
    Louis Balsamo, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
  • Al Bello/Getty Images Outside of the Giants' organization, expectations are low.
    Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • The ex-data processor for the Boston Transportation Department was previously convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of: rape of a child, assault to rape a child, indecent assault and battery on a child, disseminating obscene material to a minor, and possession of child pornography.
    Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025
  • But the legal standard for what qualifies as obscene is extremely high.
    Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • Bosa consultant Schmidt Design Group will then come up with the park’s design, and a general development plan is expected to go before San Diego’s Parks and Recreation Board in the fall.
    Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 June 2025
  • Team president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka had previously said James will be keeping an eye on how the roster improves in the offseason.
    Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • But beyond the crass remarks about Read, experts say less explosive messages about Proctor's early opinions of the investigation could be damning.
    Julia Bonavita , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2025
  • What keeps these series from coming off as crass is the genuine camaraderie that connects their characters and shelters them, to some extent, from the precariousness of their lives.
    Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Twain dared to buck the expectations of critics by using the colloquial dialect and slang of those with little education.
    Kyra Davis Lurie June 11, Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
  • So what follows is the colloquial Q&A, more or less unedited, from my email exchange with that reporter.
    George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • The janky but oddly addictive Friday the 13th: The Game goes offline for good at the end of the year — an ignoble but perhaps inevitable fate for an interactive slasher that’s been plagued by problems since its rocky launch in 2017.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
  • And bugs’ ignoble practices exert fascination on poets too.
    Hannah Brooks-Motl June 2, Literary Hub, 2 June 2025
Adjective
  • And even if that feels rude by the standards of today, people were forced to answer her questions and answer to the things that the public wanted to know.
    Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 23 June 2025
  • There are so many things that can be off or what if just the woman walks in and just is not attracted to the guy or the man is rude to the waiter.
    Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Coaches and deans and ADs weren’t amending their vernacular to avoid offending kids.
    Dawn Staley, New York Times, 20 May 2025
  • Mamet emphasizes the vernacular like a theatrical soothsayer while Zahler visualizes violence to clarify circumstance and character.
    Armond White, National Review, 14 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Vulgar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vulgar. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.

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