vulgarize

American  

[vuhl-guh-rahyz] / ˈvʌl gəˌraɪz /

especially British, vulgarise

verb (used with object)

vulgarized, vulgarizing

1. to make vulgar or coarse; lower; debase.

   to vulgarize standards of behavior.

2. to make (a technical or abstruse work) easier to understand and more widely known; popularize.

3. to translate (a work) from a classical language into the vernacular.

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vulgarize British  

/ ˈvʌlɡəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to make commonplace or vulgar; debase

2. to make (something little known or difficult to understand) widely known or popular among the public; popularize

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Other Word Forms

• unvulgarize verb (used with object)
• vulgarization noun
• vulgarizer noun

Etymology

Origin of vulgarize

First recorded in 1595–1605; vulgar + -ize

Example Sentences

In “Children of Light,” his Hollywood novel, he wrote: “There are people at this table who could vulgarize pure light.”

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2020

James Ellroy served as one of two grand masters for the awards, saying, "We are here to vulgarize literature."

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2015

The waves of vulgarity this picture gave off made me have the strong instinct that he was going to vulgarize the office of the presidency.

From Time Magazine Archive

But broken columns, boxed poems and spots of color and photographs enhance rather than vulgarize.

From Time Magazine Archive

But whatever the cause, a vulgar paper will vulgarize any room, no matter what is done in the way of furniture.

From Furnishing the Home of Good Taste A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today by Throop, Lucy Abbot