crass
Americanadjective
-
without refinement, delicacy, or sensitivity; gross; obtuse; stupid.
crass commercialism; a crass misrepresentation of the facts.
- Synonyms:
- indelicate, oafish, boorish, dull
-
Archaic. thick; coarse.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of crass
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin crassus “fat, thick”
Explanation
A crass comment is very stupid and shows that the speaker doesn't care about other people's feelings. In today's day and age, you don't have to wear black to a funeral, but to show up in clown pants is simply crass. The source of this adjective is Latin crassus, "thick, dense, fat." A similar development of meaning can be seen in English dense in the sense of "stupid, slow to understand," from Latin densus, "thick, dense," and in English thick, which can also be used to mean "stupid."
Vocabulary lists containing crass
Flying Lessons & Other Stories
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The Cuckoo's Calling
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The Sound and the Fury
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Crass as it may seem, you’ll want to get your hands on the payout sooner rather than later.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
"Crass content can be criticised if it offends you. However, you cannot have the state persecute and lock up people for offending your 'moral sentiments'," he wrote in a post on X.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025
Crass, to say the least, and transparently opportunistic.
From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2023
Crass commercialism aside, the valiant voice cast and championing of animal companions earn “Super-Pets” a slightly longer leash.
From Washington Post • Jul. 26, 2022
Crass was worn away in front of each trunk but grew tall and untrodden in tile center of the triangle.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
