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Synonyms

vulgarism

American  
[vuhl-guh-riz-uhm] / ˈvʌl gəˌrɪz əm /

noun

  1. vulgar behavior or character; vulgarity.

  2. a vulgar expression; a word or phrase used only in common colloquial, and especially in coarse, speech.


vulgarism British  
/ ˈvʌlɡəˌrɪzəm /

noun

  1. a coarse, crude, or obscene expression

  2. a word or phrase found only in the vulgar form of a language

  3. another word for vulgarity

"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

Etymology

Origin of vulgarism

First recorded in 1635–45; vulgar + -ism


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:

Well, the Games brought a large wave of vulgarism to Hyde Park for the men's triathlon on Tuesday and I was happy to be part of it.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 8, 2012

"Naff off," an upper-class vulgarism, is gaining popularity around the world largely through Anne's efforts.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Olympics had opened with the kind of easy pomp which the British are so good at, with none of the neo-pagan vulgarism which characterized the 1936 Berlin Olympiad.

From Time Magazine Archive

Le mot de Cambronne . . . was not a "defiant vulgarism as a reply to a British demand for surrender" .

From Time Magazine Archive

To use a vulgarism, he did not open his mouth so wide as the other, but at once offered me a through ticket to Liverpool for $72.

From A Tramp's Notebook by Morley Roberts

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