crass

play

adjective \ ˈkras \

Definition of crass

1 a :gross 3a; especially :having or indicating such grossness of mind as precludes delicacy and discrimination

b :being beneath one's dignity

crass concerns of daily life

c —used as a pejorative intensifier

crass flattery

crass propaganda

2 :guided by or indicative of base or materialistic values

crass commercialism

crass measures of success

—

crassly

adverb

—

crassness

noun

See crass defined for English-language learners

See crass defined for kids

Examples of crass in a Sentence

We are urgently in need of progress, but not if it means the kind of crass complacency that ignores the fact that history for most men and women to date has meant misery and fruitless toil … —Terry Eagleton, Harper's, March 2005
Minor criticism though it was compared to the rest, the most galling calumny of all as far as Gaius Marius was concerned was the perpetual inference that he was unacceptably crass because he had no Greek. —Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, (1990) 1991
He had removed her from that crass monied Middle Atlantic society where she had seemed stilted and fragile. —John Updike, Couples, 1968
A few people seemed shocked by her crass comments.
a loudmouthed jerk given to rude jokes and crass comments

Recent Examples of crass from the Web

The advertisements that are hung almost everywhere look less like crass commercialism and more like vintage photos of the place from a time when the wall was plastered with billboards for Gem razor blades and Lifebuoy soap.

— charles p. pierce, SI.com, "Sports, Like The Rest Of The U.S., Still Struggles With Legacy Of Racism," 29 Aug. 2017
Why would a successful—presumably wealthy—person write this, flaunting luxury brand names in such a blunt and crass fashion?

— tim calkins, Fortune, "Louise Linton Needs a Lesson in Branding," 25 Aug. 2017
The humor is crass and nimble as ever, but reveals a lonesomeness at the core of Julie and Billy’s shared cynicism.

— rachel syme, New Republic, "Difficult People Delivers a Dose of Political Satire," 10 Aug. 2017
But when the singer went to tweet about the importance of our nation's independence, she was met with a crass response.

— devon ivie, SELF, "Someone Tried to Fat-Shame Kelly Clarkson, And It Didn't Work. At All.," 5 July 2017
The process has been characterized by secret deliberations — a kind of crude and crass Republican will to power — with no bipartisan support and with Democrats flailing in the wind in protest.

— Time, "Most Republicans Don’t Believe Race and Gender Discrimination Is Real," 29 June 2017
Calls for the Texas Rangers to trade Yu Darvish, and crass remarks about the need to extend his contract immediately, started leaking onto social media early Wednesday night.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram.com, "Indians top Darvish as Rangers play waiting game on trades," 28 June 2017
Lawrence was disturbed by this crass American fame that this journalist was bestowing on him, fame to the point that people were chasing him down the streets.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The Forgotten Man Who Transformed Journalism in America," 23 June 2017
There was not as much luxury and high fashion involved, and definitely less crass consumerism.

— kedric francis, Orange County Register, "Women of influence: Two girls we said we’d never allow in our house are now part of the family," 20 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crass.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of crass

Latin crassus thick, gross

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1625

See Words from the same year

crass Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of crass

stupid, dull, dense, crass, dumb mean lacking in power to absorb ideas or impressions. stupid implies a slow-witted or dazed state of mind that may be either congenital or temporary.