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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
  • 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
  • This period also saw Husain exploring female forms, including images of Hindu goddesses like Durga and Lakshmi, sometimes in suggestive or erotic poses.
    Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Even more suggestive of charter value, Rick Ware and Legacy Motor Club have battled in court over the sale of a charter for $45 million.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • One room cracked up at a vulgar joke about a woman’s behind, while another went for an outrageous and surreal midfilm montage — but each bit was made genuinely funnier by the dozens of people gasping and wheezing over it.
    Robert Rubsam, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Glancing around the standing-room-only party, filled with joyful hugs and happy chatter as guests drank spicy margaritas and nibbled on fries in paper cones printed with quotes from the book, a dazed Brown smiled.
    Hadley Meares, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Best said that raw purees of garlic, onion, and ginger are spicy and pungent.
    Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Adjective
  • Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan had very different personalities The series depicts Worden as flirtatious and bawdy, while Hogan (Rondi Reed) is shown as stern and cold.
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Alfred Hitchcock, black and white films, and the rise of chocolate syrup Social taboos, censorship concerns, and technical constraints limited the use of blood in less bawdy theaters—and in most early films.
    Mark Hay, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Davidson’s condition, which leads him to make foul-mouthed outbursts, was barely understood at the time and was the source of misunderstandings, bullying, and harassment.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Earning an Emmy and a SAG Ensemble Award for his early 2000s role in Fox’s Ally McBeal, MacNicol earned another Emmy nomination for his work as foul-mouthed New Hampshire political power player Jeff Kane on HBO’s Veep in 2019.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The human body holds several effective hiding spots that some of the world's nastiest viruses have discovered - like the eyes and the testes - that are beyond the reach of the immune system.
    NPR, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Another interesting point is that nasty anti-Trump name calling seemed toned down following the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk.
    Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ribald.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ribald. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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