Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The quality or condition of being vulgar.
  • noun Something, such as an act or expression, that offends good taste or propriety.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or character of being vulgar; mean condition in life; meanness; commonness.
  • noun Coarseness, grossness, or clownishness of manners or language; absence of refinement; also, that which is vulgar; a vulgar act or expression: as, vulgarity of behavior; vulgarity of expression or language.
  • noun 3. The commonalty; the mob; the vulgar.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being vulgar; mean condition of life; the state of the lower classes of society.
  • noun Grossness or clownishness of manners of language; absence of refinement; coarseness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The quality of being vulgar.
  • noun countable An offensive or obscene act or expression.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of lacking taste and refinement

Etymologies

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Examples

  • But what you call his vulgarity, my dears, is just everyday life; and everyday life is always disgusting to the funny little Bayswaterats, who are compact of timidity and pudibonderie.

    Nights in London Thomas Burke 1915

  • He was more than usually polite to the major: he was in the army, the goal of his aspiration! but he laughed at what he called his vulgarity in private, and delighted to annoy Hester with remarks upon her "ancient adorer."

    Weighed and Wanting George MacDonald 1864

  • However, she also detested what she called vulgarity, and had never in her life, even when handling it, uttered the word shit.

    The Women’s Room Marilyn French 1977

  • However, she also detested what she called vulgarity, and had never in her life, even when handling it, uttered the word shit.

    The Women’s Room Marilyn French 1977

  • However, she also detested what she called vulgarity, and had never in her life, even when handling it, uttered the word shit.

    The Women’s Room Marilyn French 1977

  • The mitigated vulgarity is just icing on the cake.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » How to Make the Bureau of Consumer Protection More Consumer Friendly: 2010

  • The dialogue is as awash in vulgarity as, well, a middle school playground.

    I Have No Hugo Ideas, and I Must Vote! 2009

  • The dialogue is as awash in vulgarity as, well, a middle school playground.

    Stromata Blog: 2009

  • Started but did not finish: 4 (4.2%) … all distinterested lovers of books, will always look to [literature], as to all other fine art, for a refuge, a sort of cloistral refuge, from a certain vulgarity in the actual world.

    March Bibliolust « A Progressive on the Prairie 2010

  • Started but did not finish: 4 (4.2%) … all distinterested lovers of books, will always look to [literature], as to all other fine art, for a refuge, a sort of cloistral refuge, from a certain vulgarity in the actual world.

    A Progressive on the Prairie » March Bibliolust » Print 2010

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