What does "vulgar" mean?
Vulgar: Belonging or relating to the common people, as distinguished from the cultivated or educated; pertaining to common life; plebeian; not select or distinguished; hence, sometimes, of little or no value. "Like the vulgar sort of market men." Shak. Men who have passed all their time in low and vulgar life. Addison. In reading an account of a battle, we follow the hero with our whole attention, but seldom reflect on the vulgar heaps of slaughter. Rambler.
Additional senses
- 2.Hence, lacking cultivation or refinement; rustic; boorish; also, offensive to good taste or refined feelings; low; coarse; mean; base; as, vulgar men, minds, language, or manners. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Shak. Vulgar fraction. (Arith.) See under Fraction.
- 3.One of the common people; a vulgar person. [Obs.] These vile vulgars are extremely proud. Chapman.
- 4.The vernacular, or common language. [Obs.]
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00