vulgar

[ vuhl-ger ]
See synonyms for: vulgarvulgarlyvulgarness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. characterized by ignorance of or lack of good breeding or taste: vulgar ostentation.

  2. indecent; obscene; lewd: a vulgar work; a vulgar gesture.

  1. crude; coarse; unrefined: a vulgar peasant.

  2. of, relating to, or constituting the ordinary people in a society: the vulgar masses.

  3. current; popular; common: a vulgar success; vulgar beliefs.

  4. spoken by, or being in the language spoken by, the people generally; vernacular: vulgar tongue.

  5. lacking in distinction, aesthetic value, or charm; banal; ordinary: a vulgar painting.

noun
  1. Archaic. the common people.

  2. Obsolete. the vernacular.

Origin of vulgar

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin vulgāris, from vulg(us) “common people, crowd” + -āris -ar1

synonym study For vulgar

1. See common.

usage note For vulgar

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 words for vulgar

Other words from vulgar

  • vul·gar·ly, adverb
  • vul·gar·ness, noun
  • un·vul·gar, adjective
  • un·vul·gar·ly, adverb
  • un·vul·gar·ness, noun

Words Nearby vulgar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vulgar in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vulgar

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

  1. archaic

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

    • (as collective noun; preceded by the): the vulgar

Origin of vulgar

1
C14: from Latin vulgāris belonging to the multitude, from vulgus the common people

Derived forms of vulgar

  • vulgarly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012