as in to vulgarize
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Recent Examples of coarsen
If Trump’s effect on the Republican Party was simply to coarsen it, then progressives might have grimaced and taken it.
—
The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2022
But Democrats were helping to coarsen it long before Trump came along.
—Marc A. Thiessen, The Mercury News, 8 Aug. 2019
In a country so divided and coarsened, does one person’s private struggle for moral purity really matter?
—Danny Heitman, WSJ, 30 Dec. 2018
Look, the culture has been coarsened, the entertainment industry, music, film, billboards, television, everything is over sexualized or too violent or just dumped down altogether.
—Fox News, 3 Aug. 2018
See All Example Sentences for coarsen
The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2022
But Democrats were helping to coarsen it long before Trump came along.
—Marc A. Thiessen, The Mercury News, 8 Aug. 2019
In a country so divided and coarsened, does one person’s private struggle for moral purity really matter?
—Danny Heitman, WSJ, 30 Dec. 2018
Look, the culture has been coarsened, the entertainment industry, music, film, billboards, television, everything is over sexualized or too violent or just dumped down altogether.
—Fox News, 3 Aug. 2018
See All Example Sentences for coarsen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coarsen
Verb
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His versions were full-blooded, with lush strings and reasonably large orchestras — and, purists alleged — vulgarizing distortions.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
28 Oct. 2019
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Ever since his rise to power, Trump has served as a vulgarizing agent.—
Leon Neyfakh,
Slate Magazine,
2 June 2017
Verb
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Its burgundy spine wore out many years ago, so layer on layer of tape tries desperately to cradle over 60 pages of newspaper cuttings documenting every word ever published about her son, Jamie Mitchell.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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In contrast, the Fraternal Order of Eagles advocated for pensions for industrial wage laborers—for people who had worked in jobs that wore out their bodies and left them physically unable to work.—
Trevor Jackson,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Once reserves are depleted, recipients could see a 28% cut in benefits.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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Beyond the mass firings, the ranks of the department have been depleted by the departure of employees who could not stomach the new order; the resulting loss of expertise will take generations to rebuild.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Get ready for a 17-year time jump, as Timothée Chalamet's older, more jaded Paul Atreides continues to wrestle with holy war, his messianic status, and the fallout from opting to marry Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) rather than his Fremen girlfriend Chani (Zendaya).—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Mar. 2026
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The people who should be as jaded as the players are the owners, who must tire of excuses from sporting directors and managers about the limited results all this capital expenditure is delivering.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The private credit industry has been roiled in recent months by concerns that it is overexposed to the software industry – an area that’s been under pressure over fears of disintermediation from artificial intelligence.—
Leslie Picker,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
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Journalists related stories to Brown of the future princess giving them the slip, joking with them, managing her media relations so she wouldn’t be overexposed or maligned.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Erie, for example, is one of the communities currently threatening to cut off water access to residents who are overusing water at this time.—
Dillon Thomas,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
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Dallas’ blue line has more depth in terms of numbers, but its top three producers have been overused.—
Lia Assimakopoulos,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Accounting, long stereotyped as dull and tedious, has struggled for years to attract young talent.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
5 Apr. 2026
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Jordan also describes stereotyping on set, recalling producers reducing her to racial tropes, while adding that Black contestants who approached Barker would sometimes be met with visible discomfort.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coarsen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coarsen. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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