vulgar
UK/ˈvʌl.ɡə//ˈvʌl.ɡɚ/
vulgar adjective: debased; uncouth; distasteful; obscene.
Adjective
vulgar (comparative more vulgar or vulgarer, superlative most vulgar or vulgarest)
- Debased; uncouth; distasteful; obscene.
- vulgar language
- vulgar words
- Having to do with ordinary, common people.
- Near-synonyms: vulgate; vulgarized
- It might be more useful to the English reader […] to write in our vulgar language.1661, John Fell, The Life of Dr. Hammond
- Synonyms:
- common, popular, plebeian, vulgate, vulgarized
- Common, usual; of the typical kind.
- vulgar bush brown (Bicyclus vulgaris)
- A vulture (V. aura), probably the Acabiry first described by Azara, is here called […] the hunter. It resembles in form the vulgar bird, but it flies high. The head is red, and the wings are black with silver lining, like the noble Bateleur of Africa.1869, Richard Francis Burton, The Highlands of the Brazil, page 85
- Synonyms:
- customary, ordinary, typical, average, medial, basic, bog-standard, common, commonplace, common-and-garden
- Being a vulgar fraction.
- A fraction is vulgar if it has one integer divided by another integer, as long as the integer that's doing the dividing isn't equal to zero.2022, Mary Jane Sterling, Algebra II All-in-One For Dummies, page 282
Noun
vulgar (plural vulgars)
- A common, ordinary person.
- Popular antiquarian writings […] frequently focused on the regional vulgars' superstitious beliefs regarding the dead and their ongoing presence—such as popular funeral rites or the vulgars' fear of church yards.2016, Evan Gottlieb, Juliet Shields, Representing Place in British Literature and Culture, 1660-1830
- The common people.
- The language of a people, especially the commoners.
- Therefore you Clowne, abandon: which is in the vulgar, leaue the societie: which in the boorish, is companie, of this female: which in the common, is woman: which together, is, abandon the society of this Female, […]1623, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies; Published according to the True Originall Copies, London, act 5, scene 1, page 204, Internet...
- Synonyms:
- vulgate, vernacular
vulgar meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
vulgar in Hindi
- distasteful, uncouth, obscene
- वल्गर valgar, अश्लील aślīl
vulgar in Tamil
- அவமரியாதையான, ஆபாசமான
vulgar in Urdu
- vulgar, obscene, indecent
- فحش fuhś
vulgar in Bengali
- vulgar, low-born
- অকুলীন okulin
- vulgar, lowly, mean
- অকিঞ্চন okincon
More languagesFewer languages
- vulgar in Telugu
- అశ్లీలము aślīlamu
- vulgar in Malayalam
- അശ്ലീലം aślīlaṁ
- vulgar in Kannada
- ಅಸಭ್ಯ, ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ, ನೀಚ, ಕೀಳುತೆರನಾದ
- vulgar in Gujarati
- અશ્લીલ aślīl, બીભત્સ bībhats
- vulgar in Sanskrit
- अनार्य anārya
- vulgar in Arabic
- بَذِيء baḏīʔ
- vulgar in Indonesian
- vulgar, cabul, kotor, jorok
- vulgar in Persian
- رکیک rakik, مبتذل mobtazal
- vulgar in Thai
- หยาบคาย yàap-kaai
Examples of vulgar in a sentence
- a truly vulgar showing of affection
- vulgar and highly distressing scenes
- Also the rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber.1551, James A.H. Murray, editor, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the...
- And, placed discreetly among these commonplaces, a few pieces of genuine quality, bizarrely distinguished by craftsmanship from the vulgar products of the machine.1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150:
- He told me his customers could always afford to buy his cars, but in recessions they found it vulgar to do so.2023 May 28, Robert Armstrong, “The world wobbles; the luxury industry strides on”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The...
- The mechanical process of multiplying books had brought the New Testament in the vulgar tongue within the reach of every class.1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to...
Synonyms of vulgar
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of vulgar
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more vulgar |
| comparative | vulgarer |
| superlative | most vulgar |
| superlative | vulgarest |
| alternative form | vulgare |
| Noun | |
| plural | vulgars |
Origin of vulgar
From Middle English vulgare, from Latin vulgāris, from volgus, vulgus (“mob; common folk”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH-. Compare Welsh gwala (“plenty, sufficiency”), Ancient Greek ἁλία (halía, “assembly”), εἰλέω (eiléō, “to compress”), Proto-Slavic *valъ.
Words formed from vulgar
Phrases with vulgar
Words that rhyme with vulgar
Questions about vulgar
- What does vulgar mean?
- Vulgar means debased; uncouth; distasteful; obscene.
- What is vulgar in Hindi?
- Vulgar in Hindi is वल्गर (valgar), अश्लील (aślīl). See Vulgar meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use vulgar in a sentence?
- a truly vulgar showing of affection
- What part of speech is vulgar?
- Vulgar can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce vulgar?
- Vulgar is pronounced /ˈvʌl.ɡə/ (UK).
Words near vulgar in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: vulgar (page history and authors); vulgar (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); فحش (Urdu) (page history and authors); অকিঞ্চন (Bengali) (page history and authors); അശ്ലീലം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); vulgar (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-vulgar.ogg.
Cite this entry: “vulgar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/vulgar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.