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.

In today’s coarsened climate, fretting about rules of politeness seems futile.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

To say our politics have coarsened over the past few decades is like noting that temperatures drop and daylight shortens as we settle into autumn.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2022

“Hasn’t our national debate been coarsened enough, and shouldn’t we appreciate the old-school attributes of somebody like Bob Mueller, who declined to engage in hand-to-hand combat with 140 characters?” asked Sandick.

From The Guardian • Jun. 11, 2019

“I worry that you will grow up in a time of ideological haste, a time of wild conviction and coarsened thought,” she writes.

From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2017

Her skin had coarsened, tanned from all the time they were spending in the yard sitting beneath the brazen sun.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini