coarse
coarse (kôrs, kōrs) adjective
coarser, coarsest
1. Of low, common, or inferior quality.
2. a. Lacking in delicacy or refinement: coarse manners. b. Vulgar or indecent: coarse language.
3. Consisting of large particles; not fine in texture: coarse sand.
4. Rough, especially to the touch: a coarse tweed.
[Middle English cors, probably from course, custom. See course.]
coarseʹly adverb
coarseʹness noun
Synonyms: coarse, gross, indelicate, vulgar, obscene, ribald. These adjectives apply to what is offensive to accepted standards of decency, propriety, morality, or good taste. Coarse implies roughness and crudeness: A stand-up comedian performed a coarse imitation of the President. Gross suggests a lack of refinement verging on brutishness: "It is futile to expect a hungry and squalid population to be anything but violent and gross" (Thomas H. Huxley). Indelicate implies a lack of delicacy, tact, or taste: She bridled at the indelicate suggestion. Vulgar emphasizes impropriety and suggests boorishness and poor breeding: The movie is full of language so vulgar it should have been edited. Obscene strongly stresses loathsome lewdness and indecency: The book is racy rather than obscene. Ribald implies vulgar, coarse, off-color language or behavior that provokes mirth: "Peals of laughter were mingled with loud ribald jokes" (Washington Irving).