vulgar

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈvʌlɡɚ/ UK /ˈvʌlɡə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
lacking refinement or good taste; coarse

He told a vulgar joke that embarrassed the dinner guests.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · lacking refinement or good... coarse crude uncouth tasteless common boorish indecent ribald

Opposites

refined genteel tasteful polished

Word family

Forms vulgarly

Derived forms vulgarity vulgarizevulgarlyvulgarism

Related forms vulgate divulgevulgus

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

essentially vulgar
fundamentally coarse or lacking in refinement and good taste

Adverb + adjective

Simplified etymology

Vulgar comes from Latin vulgus, “the common people.” Its earliest English senses in the late Middle Ages concerned ordinary calculation and things commonly used by the people, meanings retained in vulgar fraction and vulgar tongue. The meaning “coarse” or “uncultured” developed in the mid-17th century.

Etymology

From Latin vulgaris ('of the common people, ordinary'), from vulgus ('the common people, crowd').

vulgaris Latin vulgus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# vulgar

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvʌlɡɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈvʌlɡə/

## Meanings
1. lacking refinement or good taste; coarse

## Examples
- He told a vulgar joke that embarrassed the dinner guests.

## Synonyms
- coarse
- crude
- uncouth
- tasteless
- common
- boorish
- indecent
- ribald

## Antonyms
- refined
- genteel
- tasteful
- polished

## Derived Forms
- vulgarity
- vulgarize
- vulgarly
- vulgarism

## Related Forms
- vulgate
- divulge
- vulgus

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vulgaris
- Root: vulgus

## Etymology
From Latin vulgaris ('of the common people, ordinary'), from vulgus ('the common people, crowd').

## AI Etymology
Vulgar comes from Latin vulgaris ('of the common people, ordinary'), from vulgus ('the common people, crowd'). The historical trail runs through Latin vulgaris and Latin vulgus. In modern use it means lacking refinement or good taste; coarse. Derived formations include vulgarity, vulgarize, vulgarly, vulgarism; related forms include vulgate, divulge, vulgus.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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