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Synonym Chooser

How is the word coarse different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of coarse are gross, obscene, ribald, and vulgar. While all these words mean "offensive to good taste or morals," coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language.

found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive

When can gross be used instead of coarse?

The words gross and coarse can be used in similar contexts, but gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

When could obscene be used to replace coarse?

While the synonyms obscene and coarse are close in meaning, obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters.

obscene language not allowed on the air

Where would ribald be a reasonable alternative to coarse?

The meanings of ribald and coarse largely overlap; however, ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

When might vulgar be a better fit than coarse?

The words vulgar and coarse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding.

a loud vulgar belch

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coarse Thick, coarse hair does best with a hot-air brush that features strong, durable bristles and tangle-free features. Bestreviews, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025 Black Himalayan salt is a coarse salt that comes from the mines of the Himalayas. Lindsey Desoto, Health, 24 Sep. 2025 Don’t pretend the cure for coarse speech is a swear jar. Eric Preven, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025 Unlike traditional breadcrumbs, Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs are large and fluffy, and their coarse texture makes a superb, crunchy coating for these chicken fingers. Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for coarse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coarse
Adjective
  • A day before a shooter killed four people and set fire to a church in Michigan, students at a football game in Colorado chanted vulgar anti-Mormon slurs against the same religious organization.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Colorado has condemned a vulgar chant its fans directed at BYU during its football team’s 24-21 loss Saturday at Folsom Field.
    David Ubben, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • This culture is incredibly cruel, and things have gotten really obscene.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
  • In 2009, former Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for making an obscene gesture toward a Buffalo Bills fan.
    Cole Sullivan, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Give Palestine your voice, and when your voice goes hoarse, hang your flags, wear your keffiyeh.
    Thomas Smith, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2025
  • And when your voice goes hoarse, hang your flags, wear your keffiyeh.
    Ellise Shafer, Variety, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Above the tree line, the landscape changes completely with alpine tundra, jagged peaks jutting out in the distance, and skies that seem impossibly close.
    Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The video — which has since been taken down by the TikToker, who issued an apology — captured his final moments after Miller reached the summit and then had trouble getting his gear bag unstuck on a jagged edge below.
    Susan Young, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • My adolescent cells floated away from poor me and traded places with his.
    Betty Gilpin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Women disproportionately suffer chronic disease, on average spend 25% more time in poor health than men, and, on average, experience the final 12 to 14 years of their lives in frail health.
    Maria Shriver, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Today, Wisconsin is home to more than 250 cranberry farms, located in 20 of the state's central and northern counties, where sandy soils and wetlands make the region ideal for cranberry cultivation.
    Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Plant the slips in loose, well-draining sandy or loamy soil.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Each project presented at MIA is picked with a genuine desire for these works to come to the fore, not by crass commercial considerations.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Free speech covers the jokes, the satire, the parodies—even the dumb, crass, or offensive ones.
    Lizz Winstead, Time, 27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Some states have instituted requirements for websites with adult or pornographic content to verify visitors' age before granting access, although tech experts have pointed out VPNs can be used to get around those guardrails.
    Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Like its more famous cousin from Willendorf, the depicted woman looks less like a person than like a pornographic composite of breasts, hips, and labia.
    Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Coarse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coarse. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on coarse

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