Synonyms of vulgar

vulgar

adjective

ˈvəl-gər 

1

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank

paintings that appeal to vulgar tastes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• low
• ignoble
• plebeian
• humble
• proletarian
• lower-class
• inferior
• low-life
• lumpen
• unwashed
• common
• lowly
• poor
• mean
• lowborn
• bourgeois
• prole
• baseborn
• middle-class
• simple
• plain
• working-class
• déclassé
• downscale
• down-market

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• aristocratic
• high
• noble
• great
• genteel
• lofty
• gentle
• upper-class
• patrician
• grand
• upper-crust
• prominent
• eminent
• notable
• highborn
• illustrious
• highbred
• blue-blooded
• wellborn

2

as in obscene

depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society

a warning about the movie's vulgar language

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obscene
• pornographic
• foul
• nasty
• dirty
• filthy
• gross
• crude
• suggestive
• indecent
• offensive
• unacceptable
• profane
• lewd
• obnoxious
• raunchy
• bawdy
• unpleasant
• disgusting
• coarse
• naughty
• lascivious
• ribald
• blue
• trashy
• smutty
• impure
• undesirable
• unprintable
• abusive
• unwanted
• locker-room
• wanton
• X-rated
• stag
• gutter
• infamous
• broad
• porny
• wicked
• salacious
• perverted
• indecorous
• indelicate
• scatological
• objectionable
• racy
• unbecoming
• depraved
• immodest
• repulsive
• soft
• repugnant
• revolting
• loathsome
• risqué
• earthy
• low
• salty
• perverse
• distasteful
• unwelcome
• coarse-grained
• kinky
• off
• abhorrent
• gamy
• barnyard
• off-color
• off-colored
• exceptionable
• repellent
• reprehensible
• scurrilous
• censurable
• louche
• gamey
• atrocious
• blamable
• blameworthy
• debasing
• repellant
• hard-core
• soft-core

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wholesome
• clean
• prudish
• puritanical
• decent
• priggish
• polite
• proper
• Victorian
• correct
• staid
• genteel
• decorous
• prim
• respectable
• innocuous
• acceptable
• nice
• appropriate
• inoffensive
• desirable
• seemly
• pleasant
• agreeable
• G-rated
• suitable
• nonobscene
• welcome
• pure
• pleasing
• straitlaced
• straightlaced
• becoming
• meet
• perfect
• fit
• virginal
• immaculate
• spotless
• endorsed
• approved
• sanctioned
• indorsed

3

as in general

held by or applicable to a majority of the people

the vulgar opinion is that the nation is in decline

Synonyms & Similar Words

• general
• prevailing
• popular
• public
• overall
• common
• unanimous
• predominant
• majority
• usual
• received
• ruling
• present
• dominant
• current
• universal
• typical
• contemporary
• characteristic
• familiar
• prevalent
• pervasive
• widespread
• everyday
• pop
• communal
• well-known
• rife
• preponderant
• household
• shared
• pandemic

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• uncommon
• unusual
• strange
• rare
• unknown
• special
• unpopular
• peculiar
• unique
• distinctive
• personal
• individual
• private
• separate
• idiosyncratic
• especial
• singular
• nonpublic

4

as in crass

lacking in refinement or good taste

vulgar behavior shown by someone who's made a lot of money and wants everyone to know it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crass
• rude
• crude
• coarse
• common
• gross
• uncouth
• rough
• clumsy
• uncultured
• tasteless
• lowbrow
• unpolished
• rugged
• unrefined
• raffish
• low
• uncultivated
• insensible
• illiberal
• ill-bred
• rough-hewn
• boorish
• ungentlemanly
• clownish
• loutish
• roughneck
• indelicate
• thoughtless
• churlish
• cloddish
• insensitive
• lowbred
• incult
• rustic
• unsophisticated
• rustical
• inconsiderate
• lumpish
• oafish
• lubberly
• barbarous
• uncivilized
• tacky
• barbaric
• inelegant
• provincial
• unmannerly
• countrified
• graceless
• unmannered
• mannerless
• countryfied
• animallike

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• smooth
• civilized
• cultured
• tasteful
• genteel
• polished
• aristocratic
• refined
• cultivated
• elegant
• patrician
• courtly
• graceful
• well-bred
• restrained
• sensitive
• thoughtful
• gracious
• sophisticated
• ultrarefined
• considerate
• urbane
• citified

5

as in colloquial

used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing

Latin was once the language of scholars, and English the vulgar language used by the common people

Synonyms & Similar Words

• colloquial
• vernacular
• informal
• nonliterary
• dialectic
• unliterary
• dialectical
• nonformal
• slang
• conversational
• dialectal
• uneducated
• ungrammatical
• nonstandard
• unbookish
• substandard
• slangy
• incorrect
• regional
• unlearned
• nongrammatical

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• literary
• formal
• standard
• learned
• bookish
• proper
• correct
• grammatical
• genteel
• educated
• undialectical

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of vulgar are coarse, gross, obscene, and ribald. While all these words mean "offensive to good taste or morals," vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding.

a loud vulgar belch

When is it sensible to use coarse instead of vulgar?

While the synonyms coarse and vulgar are close in meaning, coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language.

found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive

When might gross be a better fit than vulgar?

The synonyms gross and vulgar are sometimes interchangeable, but gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

In what contexts can obscene take the place of vulgar?

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

obscene language not allowed on the air

Where would ribald be a reasonable alternative to vulgar?

In some situations, the words ribald and vulgar are roughly equivalent. However, ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of vulgar

As anyone who has seen a political ad in the past decade knows, increasingly vulgar attacks seem to have become the new normal. —Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025

The fanbase garnered negative national attention after one of their own, New Jersey man Ryan Caldwell, was seen in a viral video verbally berating a woman with vulgar slurs during the team's first playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 12. —Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 29 Jan. 2025

This gothic lampoon opens with a Mary Shelley quote that foretells the weird science to follow, but each vulgar kink is more unexpected than the last. —Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025

The footage shows Caldwell calling the nearby Packers fans vulgar and sexist names, while taunting the man accompanying her with explicit gestures. —Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2025