gross

gross

adjective

Definition of GROSS

1

depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society <he was thrown out of class for making a gross gesture>

Synonyms bawdy, blue, coarse, crude, dirty, filthy, foul, gross, gutter, impure, indecent, lascivious, lewd, locker-room, nasty, pornographic, porny, profane, raunchy, ribald, smutty, stag, trashy, unprintable, vulgar, wanton, X-rated

Related Words broad, coarse-grained, gamy (or gamey), off, off-color (or off-colored), racy, risqué, salacious, salty, suggestive; barnyard, earthy, scatological; immodest, indecorous, indelicate, low, unbecoming; depraved, kinky, louche, naughty, perverse, perverted, wicked; exceptionable, objectionable, unacceptable, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; abhorrent, debasing, disgusting, loathsome, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting; distasteful, obnoxious, unpleasant; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; atrocious, infamous; abusive, scurrilous; hard-core, soft, soft-core

Near Antonyms priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, staid, straitlaced (or straightlaced), Victorian; correct, decorous, genteel, nice, polite, proper, respectable, seemly; innocuous, inoffensive; acceptable, agreeable, desirable, pleasant, pleasing, welcome; appropriate, becoming, fit, meet, suitable; immaculate, perfect, pure, spotless, virginal; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned

Antonyms clean, decent, G-rated, nonobscene, wholesome

2

having an excess of body fat <a very gross man trying to squeeze into a seat in the plane's coach section>

Synonyms blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fleshy, full, gross, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, podgy [chiefly British], portly, pudgy, replete, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby

Related Words beefy, bulky, chunky, heavy, heavyset, plumpish, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty; brawny, burly, hefty, husky; dumpy, squat, stubby; hippy, paunchy, potbellied; flabby, soft; ample, buxom, corn-fed, ripe, zaftig (also zoftig); endomorphic

Near Antonyms angular, bony (also boney), gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy; cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted; puny, scraggy, scrawny, slight; rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy; ectomorphic; anorexic

Antonyms lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin

3

lacking in refinement or good taste <refused to mix with what she called “the gross masses who are unappreciative of fine art”>

Synonyms common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, illiberal [archaic], incult, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, roughneck, rude, rugged, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar

Related Words boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly; clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish; inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless; countrified (also countryfied), provincial, rustic (also rustical), unsophisticated; graceless, inelegant, tacky; animallike, barbaric, barbarous, uncivilized; mannerless, unmannered, unmannerly

Near Antonyms aristocratic, courtly, patrician; elegant, graceful, restrained; considerate, gracious, sensitive, thoughtful; citified, sophisticated, urbane

Antonyms civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred

4

very noticeable especially for being incorrect or bad <a gross mistake that some proofreader should have caught>

Synonyms blatant, conspicuous, flagrant, glaring, gross, obvious, patent, pronounced, rank, striking

Related Words arresting, clear, distinct, dramatic, emphatic, evident, eye-catching, marked, notable, noticeable, outstanding, plain, prominent, remarkable, salient, showy, splashy; absolute, arrant, downright, out-and-out, outright, sheer, stark, utter; detectable, discernible (also discernable), observable, perceptible, visible; abominable, atrocious, awful, deplorable, execrable, heinous, lousy, monstrous, outrageous, preposterous, shameful, shocking, terrible, wretched

Near Antonyms imperceptible, inconspicuous, unnoticeable, unobtrusive; inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, slight, small, trifling, trivial; concealed, hidden, invisible

5

causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment <the little boy insisted that worms are gross>

Synonyms abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, gross, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, rancid, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening, ugly

Related Words exceptionable, objectionable; brackish, disagreeable, dislikable (also dislikeable), unpleasant; contemptible, despicable, detestable, hard, hateful; unhealthy, unsavory, unwholesome; execrable, lousy, miserable; atrocious, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), heinous, horrendous, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish, shocking, sick, sickish, sickly, terrible, unspeakable, vile; off-putting, undesirable, unwanted, unwelcome; barbarous, unchristian, uncivilized, ungodly, unholy; distressing, disturbing, upsetting

Near Antonyms acceptable, agreeable, alluring, appealing, attractive, blessed (also blest), congenial, darling, delectable, delicious, delightful, delightsome, desirable, dreamy, dulcet, enjoyable, felicitous, gratifying, heavenly, inviting, likable (or likeable), luscious, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, savory (also savoury), sweet, welcome; unexceptionable, unobjectionable; healthful, healthy, restorative, salubrious, salutary, wholesome

Antonyms innocuous, inoffensive