The word "vulgar" traces back to a Latin word meaning "common: of the common people." 

In English, "vulgar" can mean "common, general, or widespread," or more specifically, "related to the language that everyone uses in day-to-day conversation."

But more generally, and most often, "vulgar" means "common in a low, nasty way: gross, indecent, inappropriate, in bad taste." As in "Family Guy is a vulgar show, with sex, gore, violence, profanity, and boundary-pushing of every kind."

You could say that Family Guy's creators have vulgarized the show more and more every season, making it even grosser and more indecent. And in another sense of the word, you could say that Family Guy vulgarizes the American family, making it seem grosser and more indecent than it truly is.

No offense if you enjoy Family Guy!

To recap, when people vulgarize something, they either make it nasty and indecent, or they make it seem like it's nasty and indecent when it's not.

Part of speech:

Verb, the transitive kind: "On Toddlers & Tiaras, heavy makeup vulgarized the children's faces."

Other forms: 

Vulgar, vulgarity;
vulgarized, vulgarizing, vulgarization, vulgarizer(s).

how to use it:

"Vulgarize" is a harsh, heavy, judgmental, old-fashioned word that helps you point out just how bad it is when someone turns something decent or noble into something indecent or shameful (or just makes it seem that way).

You might complain about some person, action, or creation that vulgarizes some object, creation, or tradition.

For example, you might talk about an ugly pergola that vulgarizes a patio, a crude advertising campaign that vulgarizes a classic pop song, a brazen product placement that vulgarizes a movie, a made-for-the-masses movie that vulgarizes the book it's based on, a sloppy translation that vulgarizes a poem, a lazy parody that vulgarizes the work it's supposed to tease, or a nasty election season that vulgarizes the democratic process.

examples:

"Lustres applied [to pottery] with skill and restraint enhance the most beautiful glaze, but in unskilled hands they inevitably vulgarize and cheapen."
— George James Cox, Pottery, for Artists, Craftsmen & Teachers, 1914

"Like the undertaker, [the lawyer] can sharpen the pangs of misfortune by vulgarizing its sorrows."
— Charles James Lever, The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. 2, 1899

has this page helped you understand "vulgarize"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "vulgarize" without saying "sully" or "drag through the mud."

try it out:

In an 1868 memoir, Julia Ward Howe wrote:

"The railroad develops the antagonisms of trade. Its flaming sword allows of no wanderings in wayside Paradises. Its steam trumpet shrieks in your ear the lesson that the straight line is the shortest distance between two points. It swallows you at one point and vomits you at another, with extreme risk of your life between. And it vulgarizes every place that it touches."

First, talk about what she means: why does she think that the railroad "vulgarizes every place that it touches"? Next, have you ever felt the same way about some new kind of technology?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for May is "Color Your Own Colloquialism."

I'll give you the outline of a colloquialism, from English or translated from another language, along with its definition, and you create your own version of it. Your version can be goofy, straightforward, or unrepeatable in polite company: just have fun with it! To see the real version of the colloquialism, scroll all the way down. 

Try this one today: 

Meaning: "To look dirty or untidy."

Outline: "To look like something (a specific animal) (did something to)."

review this word:

1. The precise opposite of VULGARIZE is DEVULGARIZE. But a pretty close opposite of VULGARIZE is

A. LILT: to express something in a light, rhythmic way.
B. EXALT: to lift things up to a higher level of power, respect, or dignity.
C. SOMERSAULT: to move or change suddenly, as if turning or flipping over on itself.

2. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is on a _____ "mission of film education, preservation and research," one that might seem vulgarized by _____, as Justin Chang argued in the Los Angeles Times.

A. noble .. cheesy museum experiences "where visitors can pose with a statuette and record their own acceptance speeches"
B. foolish .. a subtle museum feature that "resists the obvious, or at least takes a break from celebrating the already amply celebrated"
C. self-important .. museum displays that include "ancient woodblock prints, magic lanterns and other early pre-cinema innovations"

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. A From the game, here's the real version of the colloquialism: "To look like something the cat dragged in." (I kind of like "to look like something a racoon rejected.")

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.