vulgar

[vuhl-ger]

adjective

1. characterized by ignorance of or lack of good breeding or taste.

   vulgar ostentation.

   Synonyms: ribald, coarse, low, inelegant, unrefined

2. indecent; obscene; lewd.

   a vulgar work; a vulgar gesture.

3. crude; coarse; unrefined.

   a vulgar peasant.

   Synonyms: rude, boorish

4. of, relating to, or constituting the ordinary people in a society.

   the vulgar masses.

5. current; popular; common.

   a vulgar success; vulgar beliefs.

6. spoken by, or being in the language spoken by, the people generally; vernacular.

   vulgar tongue.

   Synonyms: colloquial

7. lacking in distinction, aesthetic value, or charm; banal; ordinary.

   a vulgar painting.

noun

1. Archaic.,  the common people.

2. Obsolete.,  the vernacular.

vulgar

/ ˈvʌlɡə /

adjective

1. marked by lack of taste, culture, delicacy, manners, etc

   vulgar behaviour

   vulgar language

2. (often capital; usually prenominal) denoting a form of a language, esp of Latin, current among common people, esp at a period when the formal language is archaic and not in general spoken use

3. archaic

   1. of, relating to, or current among the great mass of common people, in contrast to the educated, cultured, or privileged; ordinary

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the vulgar

Usage

Terms that are labeled Vulgar in this dictionary are considered inappropriate in many circumstances because of their association with a taboo subject. Major taboo subjects in English-speaking countries are sex and excretion and the parts of the body associated with those functions.

Other Word Forms

• vulgarly adverb
• vulgarness noun
• unvulgar adjective
• unvulgarly adverb
• unvulgarness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vulgar¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin vulgāris, from vulg(us) “common people, crowd” + -āris -ar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of vulgar¹

C14: from Latin vulgāris belonging to the multitude, from vulgus the common people

Synonym Study

See common.

Example Sentences

The images, including beach shots in swimwear, were digitally altered before being posted in albums with titles like "hot politicians" with other suggestive and sexist captions, prompting vulgar commentary beneath.

From BBC

And no joke is more vulgar than one mocking the pain of your neighbors, whether they were born in this country or not.

From Los Angeles Times

The beloved “Sesame Street” monster Elmo shared a series of vulgar posts to X on Sunday, following an alleged hack.

From Salon

In the novel, Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the Democratic presidential nomination to Buzz Windrip, who is described as “vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily discredited,” but wins the election in a landslide.

From Salon

I don’t feel surprised at all about this clear authoritarian direction of this new, even more radical and vulgar form of Trumpism.

From Salon

Related Words

• boorish 
• coarse 
• crude 
• disgusting 
• filthy 
• impolite 
• indecent 
• nasty 
• naughty 
• obscene 
• off-color 
• profane 
• ribald 
• scatological 
• suggestive 
• tasteless 
• tawdry