scurrility
Americannoun
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scurrilities
plural
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a scurrilous quality or condition.
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a scurrilous remark or attack.
- Synonyms:
- vulgarity, indecency, invective, vilification, abuse, vituperation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of scurrility
From the Latin word scurrīlitās, dating back to 1500–10. See scurrile, -ity
Explanation
The word scurrility refers to foul or vulgar language that’s meant to insult or offend, like mean-spirited jokes or cruel gossip. Scurrility comes from the Latin word scurrilis, meaning "buffoonish" or "jesting," hinting at the lowbrow nature of scurrilous language. Historically, scurrility was associated with harsh jokes or crude remarks made to entertain at someone else’s expense. Today, this noun is used to describe language or behavior that crosses the line from humor into outright rudeness, often stirring conflict rather than laughter.
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.
See Examples For:
Targets: Soviet sentimentalism, windbaggery on Capitol Hill, the dollar chase in Big Business, journalistic scurrility on a big picture magazine.
From Time Magazine Archive
Against his enemies, or his imagined enemies, he was capable, in Ollard's words, of "scurrility verging at times on the hysterical."
From Time Magazine Archive
His successor, too, resigned under a barrage of anonymous scurrility.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two newspapers, the Nugget and the Epitaph, blared frontier scurrility at each other.
From Time Magazine Archive
The contributor has already lapsed from simple fatuity into fatuity compound with scurrility.
From William Blake A Critical Essay by Algernon Charles Swinburne
That’s a long list of animosities, scurrilities, grudges and indictments.
From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2020
Someone has been in this motel room all night, strewing scurrilities.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2019
A ridiculer then is the best champion to meet another ridiculer; their scurrilities magically undo each other.
From Calamities and Quarrels of Authors by Isaac Disraeli
These authorities he deployed at tedious length and followed them up with heavy scurrilities and "excusations," by way of attack and defense.
From Brief History of English and American Literature by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers
The breath was scarcely out of her body, when a flood of cowardly scurrilities was poured from the gutter press.
From The Magnificent Montez From Courtesan to Convert by Horace Wyndham
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
