1
as in rudeness
the quality or state of lacking refinement or good taste
our cousins' general vulgarity and poor manners irritate my mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
the pointless vulgarity of the joke disgusted her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vulgarity
The production is known for its humor as much as its vulgarity, and on Thursday night, the Out Front Theatre Company is raising the curtain on the off-Broadway production.
—
Monique John, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Skarsgård takes aspects of the real Kiritsis — his irrational rage and vulgarity — but gives him an inner life and depth that the real Kiritsis didn’t seem to possess.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
With its insistent, obsessive patter, not to mention its unrelenting commitment to in-your-face vulgarity, Sherman’s comedy is hardly for everyone.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.
—Andy Crump, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vulgarity
Monique John, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
Skarsgård takes aspects of the real Kiritsis — his irrational rage and vulgarity — but gives him an inner life and depth that the real Kiritsis didn’t seem to possess.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Jan. 2026
With its insistent, obsessive patter, not to mention its unrelenting commitment to in-your-face vulgarity, Sherman’s comedy is hardly for everyone.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.
—Andy Crump, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vulgarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vulgarity
Noun
-
But if there truly is an epidemic of canine defecation in your area, then the solution is not to turn up the rudeness volume, but to appeal to a system or organization that addresses public health or the care of public spaces.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
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But only those who had been woken up without warning with a degree of rudeness would remember this night when their own time came.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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If an exclamation point only signified gore and grossness, this gothic rock opera would more than qualify.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The characters’ propensity for ugly faces, silliness and a bit of grossness too, stems from the portrayals of girlhood and young womanhood that appeal to them.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
That feeling stops, however, when pulling into gas stations or parking lots, where the length and lowness of the car require extreme care to keep the chin from scraping.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Documents state that Ebert returned a few days later to William Yates' house to yell obscenities at his wife and a friend who were sitting outside.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
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Yates family members said Ebert drove up honking his horn and yelling obscenities, during which surveillance footage shows William backed into the driveway to avoid getting hit, throwing a rock at Ebert’s car.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Interest in imperfection, roughness, and asymmetry was already growing in the digital era before AI arrived.—
Andrey Mir,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
-
There is still a little roughness around the edges.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The other funnymen of the time—Milton Berle with his lewd suggestiveness, Jackie Gleason with his baleful roar—did the same shtick over and over.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But many seemingly urbane texts also benefited from the intellectual and moral coarseness of their times.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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The term plant texture refers to the fineness or coarseness, roughness or smoothness, heaviness or lightness of a particular plant.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vulgarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vulgarity. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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