What does crudity mean?
Crudity is a noun describing the state or quality of being crude — that is, lacking refinement, subtlety, polish, or finish. It has two main applications. The first, and most common today, concerns taste and conduct: a remark, joke, or depiction may show crudity when it is vulgar, blunt, or indelicate, as in criticism of a film's sexual crudity. The second concerns workmanship and development: the crudity of an early tool, technique, or scientific instrument refers to its primitive, unsophisticated character, often with an implied contrast to later improvement. The word derives from the Latin crudus, meaning raw or undigested, via the French crudité, and entered English in the sixteenth century. It is somewhat formal in register and usually pejorative, though not always — historians may use it descriptively to characterize the limitations of an earlier era. Closely related to crudeness, it remains a useful word for naming coarseness, whether moral, aesthetic, or technical.
The state or quality of being crude; lack of refinement, polish, or sophistication.
"The crudity of the animation betrayed the studio's tight budget."
Often used with 'the' when discussing the quality of a specific thing: 'the crudity of the design'.
A crude remark, joke, act, or representation; an instance of vulgarity or indelicacy.
"His speech was punctuated by crudities that embarrassed his hosts."
In this sense the plural 'crudities' refers to individual instances rather than the general quality.
The plural typically refers to multiple individual instances of crude remarks, acts, or features, rather than degrees of the general quality.
"The memoir spares no detail, cataloguing the crudities of army life without embarrassment."
'Crudity' and 'recrudescence' share the same Latin root — one names what's unrefined, the other the ugly return of something you thought was over.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crudity
Crudity comes from the Latin crudus, meaning 'raw', 'uncooked', or 'undigested'. It reached English by way of the French crudité in the sixteenth century. The same root gives English 'crude' and underlies 'recrudescence', the revival or flare-up of something previously quiescent, such as a disease. Its earliest senses related to rawness in a literal and medical sense before shifting toward the figurative meanings of coarseness and vulgarity familiar today.
Related word forms
How crudity is actually used
Somewhat formal or literary register. In modern usage it most often carries a negative connotation of vulgarity or bad taste, though it can be used neutrally for primitiveness or unfinished technical work. 'Crudity' and 'crudeness' overlap heavily; writers increasingly favour 'crudeness' for behaviour and reserve 'crudity' for qualities and conditions.
Easily confused with crudity
Crudeness is the closely related noun form of 'crude'; 'crudity' more often denotes an inherent quality or state of being crude, while both are largely interchangeable in modern usage.
Acuity means sharpness or keenness of perception or thought, whereas crudity means roughness or lack of refinement.