vulgar

/ˈvʌlgər/

/ˈvʌlgə/

Other forms: vulgarest; vulgarer

Someone who's vulgar has bad taste, and could also be called unrefined or unsophisticated. Your snobby neighbor might mutter about your family's vulgar taste if you paint your house with hot pink stripes.

From the Latin vulgus, meaning "the common people," vulgar is an adjective that can describe anything from the sexually explicit to the merely ugly and crass. A crude joke could be considered vulgar, as could a breach of etiquette at a dinner party. Your dad might love the lights and glamour of Times Square, while your mom finds all the brightly colored corporate logos to be vulgar.

Definitions of vulgar

1. adjective

   of or associated with the great masses of people
   “a vulgar and objectionable person”

   synonyms: common, plebeian, unwashed

   lowborn

   of humble birth or origins
2. adjective

   being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language
   “the vulgar tongue of the masses”

   “the technical and vulgar names for an animal species”

   synonyms: common, vernacular

   informal

   used of spoken and written language
3. adjective

   lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
   “appealing to the vulgar taste for violence”

   “the vulgar display of the newly rich”

   synonyms: coarse, common, rough-cut, uncouth

   unrefined

   (used of persons and their behavior) not refined; uncouth
4. adjective

   conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
   “a vulgar gesture”

   “full of language so vulgar it should have been edited”

   synonyms: crude, earthy, gross

   indecent

   offensive to good taste especially in sexual matters