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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of coarse are gross, obscene, ribald, and vulgar. While all these words mean "offensive to good taste or morals," coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language.

found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive

When can gross be used instead of coarse?

The words gross and coarse can be used in similar contexts, but gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.

gross eating habits

When could obscene be used to replace coarse?

While the synonyms obscene and coarse are close in meaning, 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 coarse?

The meanings of ribald and coarse largely overlap; however, ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.

entertained the campers with ribald folk songs

When might vulgar be a better fit than coarse?

The words vulgar and coarse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding.

a loud vulgar belch

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 coarse This is a major bonus for those with coarse, thick hair. Claire Sullivan, WWD, 21 Feb. 2025 Curly, coarse, or thick hair may need less frequent washing.13 Also, try only using alcohol-free hair care products to prevent harsh chemicals from irritating your scalp.12 Over-The-Counter (OTC) Treatments Over-the-counter (OTC) products may be enough to manage mild to moderate wet dandruff. Lindsay Curtis, Health, 5 Feb. 2025 Kosher salt is pure sodium chloride, more coarse, offers a clean flavor, and offers a less concentrated salt flavor per spoonful. Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2025 In their coarse granular form, they can be used as bathing salts.3 Risks and Considerations Gourmet table salts are less refined, providing beneficial minerals. Lauren O'Connor, Ms, Health, 18 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for coarse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coarse
Adjective
  • However, these arrangements were not mere shakedowns; they were anchored in strategic diplomacy and geopolitical calculus, rather than vulgar profiteering.
    Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Her Facebook and email had been flooded with vulgar, inflammatory responses.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), individuals may not block access to sidewalks or buildings, disrupt counterprotests, or engage in speech that is obscene, makes knowingly false statements of fact, or incites immediate violence or dangerous disturbances.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
  • There is absolutely nothing in libraries across the state that is obscene.
    Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Davis and subsequently Streep — whose acceptance speech included a biographical survey of half the celebrities in the room and a call for resistance made in a voice gone hoarse by hollering at Women’s March protests the day before — know the only way out is through.
    Vulture Staff, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2025
  • While working through the audio issues, Billy Ray wandered the stage, sang a cappella, and left some viewers concerned about his hoarse voice and at times erratic behavior.
    Shania Russell, EW.com, 28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The image teases both the film’s narrative developments and its jagged formal approach, as the director (who shares editing duties with both co-writer Karen Plata and DP Odei Zabaleta) aims to structurally replicate the non-linear disorder and occasional blind spots of ruptured childhood memories.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Located on the historic Santa Barbara plantation, the jagged limestone peak is accessible at four different points with routes up to 164 feet high (50 meters), depending on your athletic ability.
    Curaçao Tourist Board, AFAR Media, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • And another research team, using data from 2015 to 2022, observed in an article available in Energy Research and Social Science that poor income distribution correlates with social unrest when fossil fuel subsidies are removed.
    Aldo Flores-Quiroga, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
  • And poor work conditions can hurt morale in any field.
    Jeff Weiner, Axios, 28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The clear turquoise water of Oura Bay comes right up to the hotel’s beach—rocky in some parts, sandy in others.
    Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Due to the sandy terrain, tent campers will want to bring extra-long stakes.
    Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • For climate advocates, Forrest citing his mining company’s financial performance might sound a bit crass coming from a billionaire who hops around the world on a private plane.
    Justin Worland, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Ak — who was previously accused of rape — was immediately faced with accusations of grooming, later admitting to his crass behavior.
    Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
    Susan Montoya Bryan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Ford’s actually relatively locked-in as the gruff but supportive Colonel Graff training the impressionable Ender (Asa Butterfield), who has to save the universe as all lads in these types of films tend to do.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Coarse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coarse. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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