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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of ribald are coarse, gross, obscene, and vulgar. While all these words mean "offensive to good taste or morals," ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

Where would coarse be a reasonable alternative to ribald?

The synonyms coarse and ribald are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 ribald?

The meanings of gross and ribald largely overlap; however, gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

In what contexts can obscene take the place of ribald?

While in some cases nearly identical to ribald, obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters.

obscene language not allowed on the air

When might vulgar be a better fit than ribald?

The words vulgar and ribald 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 ribald But, Brigman found, the men in Stieglitz’s scene often belittled the subject, ogling and making ribald jokes. Sarah Blackwood, The New Yorker, 11 May 2020 But Beforeigners eschews the supernatural, and the campier teen soap elements, to deliver a thoughtful, moving, and often quite ribald and funny tale of various worlds colliding. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2020 Later, Society members on the city commission pulled funding from a chamber-of-commerce event, citing concerns about an allegedly ribald country-and-western band. Emma Green, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2019 The Los Angeles artist, known for her ribald depictions of middle-aged men and babies (and baby men) wreaking all manner of havoc (bodily and otherwise), is presenting a series of paintings and videos. Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2019 See All Example Sentences for ribald
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ribald
Adjective
  • Banners or signs may not be commercial in nature or obscene, or cause any disturbance to other fans.
    Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Workers described incidents of verbal and physical abuse, including reports from women workers who said they had been manhandled and subjected to obscene remarks and threats.
    Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The department’s content warnings include mild romantic situations and notions of matchmaking, gentle social satire, occasional passive-aggressive dialogue and very mild suggestive themes (but nothing explicit).
    Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2025
  • This result is suggestive but not conclusive, as it was based on modeling and not direct measurements.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2025
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
  • Unlike other game-day snacks like chips or popcorn, where flavors and textures can get a little one-note after a while, ALDI’s Cajun Trail Mix keeps your taste buds entertained with different flavors—salty, sweet, and spicy—and different textures, too.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The sandwich options vary by protein, with choices including Spam, bacon, ham and spicy pork.
    Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 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
Adjective
  • Australian playwright Tony McNamara has turned his side hustle as a screenwriter into a blessing for Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, The Favourite), and viewers of The Great, his bawdy historical farce for Hulu, can attest to his love of layered, lacerating insults.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
  • American Pie is both funnier and bawdier than Porky's, though that 1981 romp gets points for Kim Cattrall's outrageous orgasm scene.
    Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • StudioCanal, which produces the Paddington movies, and Paddington Bear’s rights holders are suing Avalon after the British producer’s Spitting Image series on YouTube depicted Paddington as a foul-mouthed podcast host.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Three days earlier, Rocchio had ended Cleveland’s regular season with a three-run blast off the right-field foul pole, a walk-off homer that propelled the club into postseason mode.
    Zack Meisel, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And what about all that nasty mother stuff?
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The wedding ballads can wait; this nasty jam should still get the dancefloor packed in the meantime.
    Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ribald.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ribald. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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