scurrility
Americannoun
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scurrilities
plural
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a scurrilous quality or condition.
-
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:
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
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
Targets: Soviet sentimentalism, windbaggery on Capitol Hill, the dollar chase in Big Business, journalistic scurrility on a big picture magazine.
From Time Magazine Archive
Most of the newspapers contain nothing but scurrility and abuse.
From My Memoirs by Marguerite Steinheil
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
If he had, he would certainly have made it the subject of some more scurrilities.
From Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Henry Reeve, C.B., D.C.L. In Two Volumes. Volume II. by John Knox Laughton
The many scurrilities I have heard and read against this poor paper of mine, are in such a strain, that considering the present state of affairs, they look like a jest.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 09 Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer by Jonathan Swift
To-day who indeed remembers the scurrilities of the past?
From War by Pierre Loti
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.
