vulgarize

[ vuhl-guh-rahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, vul·gar·ized, vul·gar·iz·ing.

1. to make vulgar or coarse; lower; debase:

   to vulgarize standards of behavior.

2. to make (a technical or abstruse work) easier to understand and more widely known; popularize.
3. to translate (a work) from a classical language into the vernacular.

vulgarize

/ ˈvʌlɡəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to make commonplace or vulgar; debase
2. to make (something little known or difficult to understand) widely known or popular among the public; popularize

Derived Forms

• ˈvulgarˌizer, noun
• ˌvulgariˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• vulgar·i·zation noun
• vulgar·izer noun
• un·vulgar·ize verb (used with object) unvulgarized unvulgarizing

Word History and Origins

Origin of vulgarize¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; vulgar + -ize

Example Sentences

That last attraction might sound like a waste of space, a frivolous, vulgarizing touch.

From Los Angeles Times

He said the term “deep state,” which is shorthand for the conspiracy theory about Democratic elites secretly exercising political control over the public, has been co-opted and vulgarized by many in the pro-Trump universe.

From New York Times

In “Children of Light,” his Hollywood novel, he wrote: “There are people at this table who could vulgarize pure light.”

From New York Times

But in this case, it has picked up some bad habits from Broadway, taking a bankable title — it’s already extended — that vulgarizes its source material and throwing more voltage than charisma into the performance.

From Washington Post

The original film was made with brazenly mercantile yet artistically sound intentions, and, despite its vulgarizing touches, it’s a crudely effective story about tradition and modernity, misogyny and resistance.

From The New Yorker