What does crassly mean?
"Crassly" is the adverb form of "crass," describing actions, statements, or works carried out in a crude, insensitive, or stupidly unrefined way. To do something crassly is to act without tact, delicacy, or intelligence — joking about a tragedy, exploiting grief for profit, or reducing art to naked commerce are all typically described this way. The word carries a strongly negative, judgmental tone: it signals not merely bad manners but a kind of dense, oblivious coarseness, often tinged with greed or vulgarity. Common pairings include "crassly commercial," "crassly materialistic," and "crassly insensitive." It derives ultimately from the Latin crassus, meaning thick or gross, so its figurative sense of mental or moral denseness preserves the original image of something dull and heavy. Writers and critics favor it as a compact, cutting way to condemn tastelessness.
adverbIn a crude, insensitive, or stupidly unrefined manner; without subtlety, tact, or intelligence.
- In a crude, insensitive, or stupidly unrefined manner; lacking subtlety, tact, or intelligence.
"The film was criticized as crassly commercial, sacrificing story for merchandise sales."
"He crassly joked about the layoffs at the company party."
"Critics dismissed the sequel as a crassly calculated bid for box-office revenue."
Before it meant tasteless, "crass" literally meant thick — the word comes straight from the Latin crassus, the same root behind "crassitude," an actual dictionary word for thickness or coarseness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crassly
The adverb "crassly" is formed by adding the regular adverbial suffix -ly to "crass," an adjective borrowed into English in the early 17th century from Latin crassus, meaning thick, fat, or coarse. In Latin, crassus described physical density and grossness, and English first used it similarly before it shifted toward figurative senses of intellectual and social coarseness. Cognate formations from the same Latin root include "crassness" and the rarer "crassitude."
Related word forms
How crassly is actually used
Almost always derogatory and evaluative; used to condemn behavior, remarks, or creative works that show greed, bad taste, or disregard for others' feelings.
Easily confused with crassly
"Crossly" means in an annoyed or irritated manner, while "crassly" means in a crude or insensitive way.