as in to popularize
to use so much as to make less appealing
the composer's masterpiece has been hopelessly vulgarized by its use in countless TV commercials
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 vulgarize
His versions were full-blooded, with lush strings and reasonably large orchestras — and, purists alleged — vulgarizing distortions.
—
BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019
Ever since his rise to power, Trump has served as a vulgarizing agent.
—Leon Neyfakh, Slate Magazine, 2 June 2017
BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019
Ever since his rise to power, Trump has served as a vulgarizing agent.
—Leon Neyfakh, Slate Magazine, 2 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vulgarize
Verb
-
By the time 1960 rolled around, trucks had appropriated car-like fenders and four-door cabs from conventional automobiles; by the 1980s, smaller trucks — first from Japan, followed by American brands — further popularized the idea of trucks as everyday vehicles and even fun toys.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
5 Aug. 2025
-
The Medici, one of the most important families of the Florentine aristocracy, popularized them at their court.—
Michel Mejía,
Glamour,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Interestingly, breasts, and the desire for them, are stereotyped as objects of white desire, as opposed to, say, the Black man’s hunger for ass.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
2 Aug. 2025
-
The author comes from Cheyenne and Arapaho heritages, and its mesmerizing cast of characters struggle with every challenge stereotyped on our indigenous peoples — heavy drinking, poverty, fetal alcohol syndrome — juxtaposed with an array of their many talents and gifts.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
27 July 2025
Verb
-
Another thing that Shakman does is showcase the superpowers but never overuses or over-eggs them.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
-
Researchers are discovering that SWD could have a pyrethroid resistance, so overusing insecticides could cause SWD to gain stronger immunity and spread farther, according to the University of California.—
Sophia Valchine,
Freep.com,
9 July 2025
Verb
-
Lock Focus And Adjust Exposure To stop your iPhone from overexposing the bright moon, tap and hold on the moon in your camera preview to lock focus.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
At the top of the lineup, Ceci was overexposed, leading to some awful on-ice stats that probably would’ve looked fine if he was simply used in a more appropriate role.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Verb
-
Still the gigantic creature bored his way downward, with undiminished speed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Aug. 2025
-
The female bores into the fig to lay its eggs, which hatch out as larvae inside the fruit and eat the unripe insides before burrowing their way out.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vulgarize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vulgarize. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share