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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 Simply pump the handle to cut food into fine, chunky, or coarse bits as needed. Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025 However, the bast fiber’s coarse characteristics have limited its use in denim. Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Oct. 2025 Either way, your natural textures tends to be coarse, says Kimble. Talia Gutierrez, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025 This is particularly helpful for those with thicker, coarser hair (types 3 to 4). Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for coarse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coarse
Adjective
  • Who decides what’s decorous and what’s vulgar?
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.
    Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Beside one of those blandly obscene bidets.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But the show avoided an FCC probe as the West Coast delay was censored, and the East Coast broadcast aired after the 6am-10pm window during which obscene content is prohibited on broadcast TV and radio.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • When a reporter reached her by phone a week later, her voice sounded hoarse.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Give Palestine your voice, and when your voice goes hoarse, hang your flags, wear your keffiyeh.
    Thomas Smith, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The morning light casts jagged shadows across the pink stone, catching the saguaro spines and illuminating them like desert saints.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • According to one tale, the devil escaped from hell and formed the jagged peaks in one day’s work.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The apology came after a sustained campaign by historians and activists who argued that the victims were persecuted for being poor, vulnerable, or simply different.
    James Frater, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
  • As has Mark Flekken, the new goalkeeper, who moved from Brentford and is fortunate not to have lost his place due to poor form.
    Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For ten days in July, fighter jets roared, infantry exchanged fire in crowded streets, and mobile missile launchers twirled their payloads from sandy beachheads as part of its annual Han Kuang exercises.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The Beach Club Villas will occupy 23 beachfront parcels, each one acre with about 150 feet of sandy beach frontage, with prices beginning at $7 million for the land.
    Mark David, Robb Report, 23 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
  • While some individuals have produced hardcore pornographic clips starring Disney and comic book characters, others on the platform have succeeded in prompting Grok Imagine to conjure lewd imagery of Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, and Sydney Sweeney.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
  • OpenAI included numerous guardrails with Sora, including moderation, restrictions on scammy, violent and pornographic material, watermarks and controls over how one's likeness is used.
    Bobby Allyn, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Coarse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coarse. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on coarse

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