What does vulgarise mean?
Vulgarise is a chiefly British verb with two closely related meanings: to make something coarse, indecent, or less refined, and to make something commonplace or widely popular. It is often used critically of attempts to reduce serious art, complex ideas, or cultural traditions to simplified, sensational, or commercial forms. The word can also describe the spread of a product, phrase, or practice into everyday public life, although this use frequently suggests that something once distinctive has become overly familiar or trivial. Vulgarise is related to the adjective vulgar, which derives from Latin vulgaris, meaning “of the common people” or “general.” The verb is especially associated with British English, while North American speakers generally use vulgarize. Its usefulness lies in capturing both social processes: the transformation of something refined into something coarse, and the movement of something unusual into the mainstream.
verbTo make something vulgar, coarse, or indecent, or to make it widely accessible and commonplace, often with the implication that its value or subtlety has been reduced.
- To make something coarse, indecent, or lacking in refinement.
- To make something widely accessible or popular, often implying that a complex or serious subject has been trivialized.
"The campaign was accused of vulgarising a serious literary tradition by turning it into a commercial slogan."
"The adaptation was criticized for vulgarising the novel's tragic themes."
"Humorous posts can vulgarise complicated scientific ideas, making them easier to share but harder to understand."
Vulgarise has a double life: it can mean making something coarse, but also making something popular and common to everyone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vulgarise
Vulgarise was formed in English by combining vulgar with the suffix -ise. The adjective vulgar comes through Middle French from Latin vulgaris, “of or belonging to the common people,” which is derived from vulgus, “the crowd” or “the common people.” The related English words vulgarity, vulgarian, and vulgus reflect the same Latin root and its associations with ordinary people and popular speech.
Related word forms
How vulgarise is actually used
The verb is usually critical or disapproving. It may describe either an unwelcome loss of refinement or a process of making something broadly popular, but the latter sense often carries the implication of oversimplification.
Easily confused with vulgarise
Vulgarize is the North American spelling of the British verb vulgarise; both forms have the same meaning.