vulgarize
|vul-gar-ize|
🇺🇸
/ˈvʌlɡəˌraɪz/
🇬🇧
/ˈvʌlɡəraɪz/
make common / debase
Etymology
'vulgarize' originates from French, specifically the word 'vulgariser', ultimately from Latin 'vulgaris' meaning 'common', with the verb-forming suffix '-ize'.
'vulgarize' developed via French 'vulgariser' and by combining English 'vulgar' (from Latin 'vulgaris') + the Greek-derived suffix '-ize', entering English usage in the 17th–18th century.
Initially it often meant 'to render into the vernacular or make common', but over time it also acquired the senses 'to debase or make coarse' and 'to popularize', sometimes with a negative connotation.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to make vulgar or coarse; to debase the style, meaning, or character of something.
Critics argued that the film's producers vulgarized the novel by adding crude jokes.
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Verb 2
to make common or accessible to the general public; to popularize (sometimes with the implication of oversimplification).
The author refused to vulgarize complex scientific ideas into catchy headlines.
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Verb 3
(formal or historical) To render into the vernacular or common language.
In earlier centuries translators sometimes vulgarized Latin texts into the local tongue.
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Last updated: 2026/01/13 00:45