1
as in rudeness
the quality or state of lacking refinement or good taste
our cousins' general vulgarity and poor manners irritate my mother
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
the pointless vulgarity of the joke disgusted her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 vulgarity
The production is known for its humor as much as its vulgarity, and on Thursday night, the Out Front Theatre Company is raising the curtain on the off-Broadway production.
—
Monique John, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
With its insistent, obsessive patter, not to mention its unrelenting commitment to in-your-face vulgarity, Sherman’s comedy is hardly for everyone.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.
—Andy Crump, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
The presence of these planes flying close to our Caribbean Sea is a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation.
—John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vulgarity
Monique John, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
With its insistent, obsessive patter, not to mention its unrelenting commitment to in-your-face vulgarity, Sherman’s comedy is hardly for everyone.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.
—Andy Crump, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
The presence of these planes flying close to our Caribbean Sea is a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation.
—John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vulgarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vulgarity
Noun
-
As the recipient of Gentle Readers’ mail, Miss Manners is all too aware of the deluge of rudeness in the modern world.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
But only those who had been woken up without warning with a degree of rudeness would remember this night when their own time came.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
If an exclamation point only signified gore and grossness, this gothic rock opera would more than qualify.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The characters’ propensity for ugly faces, silliness and a bit of grossness too, stems from the portrayals of girlhood and young womanhood that appeal to them.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
That feeling stops, however, when pulling into gas stations or parking lots, where the length and lowness of the car require extreme care to keep the chin from scraping.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But as the film quietly signals, a society’s obscenities are not aberrations, only parts of an ugly chapter in a long history.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Mason’s film, however, went deeper than its premise might suggest; alongside the story of Barry’s persecution on obscenity charges by Ronald Reagan’s FBI, the doc also offered a chilling reminder of the lethal effects of the 1980s AIDS crisis.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The aesthetic favors deliberate roughness and mistakes over a sterile, polished sheen.—
Maddie Connors,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Whether bumps or pits, roughness or a distinct lack of luminosity, uneven skin texture impacts all of us at some point.—
Hannah Coates,
Vogue,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The other funnymen of the time—Milton Berle with his lewd suggestiveness, Jackie Gleason with his baleful roar—did the same shtick over and over.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The term plant texture refers to the fineness or coarseness, roughness or smoothness, heaviness or lightness of a particular plant.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
-
An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vulgarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vulgarity. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
