coarse
Americanadjective
-
composed of relatively large parts or particles.
The beach had rough, coarse sand.
-
lacking in fineness or delicacy of texture, structure, etc..
The stiff, coarse fabric irritated her skin.
-
harsh; grating.
-
lacking delicacy, taste, or refinement; unpolished.
He had coarse manners but an absolutely first-rate mind.
-
of inferior or faulty quality; common; base.
-
vulgar; obscene; crude.
His coarse language angered us.
- Synonyms:
- indelicate
-
(of metals) unrefined.
-
(of a metal file) having the maximum commercial grade of coarseness.
adjective
-
rough in texture, structure, etc; not fine
coarse sand
-
lacking refinement or taste; indelicate; vulgar
coarse jokes
-
of inferior quality; not pure or choice
-
(of a metal) not refined
-
(of a screw) having widely spaced threads
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of coarse
First recorded in 1550–60; earlier cors(e), course, cowarce; of obscure origin
Explanation
Coarse can mean rough to the touch or vulgar. It's good to have coarse sand paper, but not good to have coarse manners. Do you lick your dinner plate, wipe your nose on your sleeve, and generally behave like an oaf? No, of course not. You're the kind of person who reads online dictionaries. But if you did do any of things, you'd be coarse — that is, unrefined, boorish, and downright vulgar. Coarse can apply to a wide variety of things other than behavior. If something is of poor quality, cheap and inferior, it's considered coarse.
Vocabulary lists containing coarse
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 6
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When this coarse fern is trimmed it is "litter", the dead leaves on the floor that create a warmer ecosystem underneath which is essential for the growth of the High Brown caterpillar.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
They detected sharp, short-lived increases in both coarse and fine airborne particles throughout the event.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026
The new surface isn’t plastic like a typical pool lining, which is easier to cut, but is more like a coarse coat of paint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
You can also use ground chia seeds if you prefer your crusty layer to have a less coarse texture.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
When his first letter arrived, asking sweetly if he might court her, she felt as if a coarse blanket had been lifted from her life.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
They’re small, the colors are garish, and they’re coarser in feeling than the work for which he is best known.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Even the Pokémon noises are gently mellowed out in contrast to the coarser, more caterwauling sounds of the games; here the creatures purr, cry, coo and sigh like docile house pets.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
Less electricity was produced when coffee had a higher internal moisture content and when coffee was ground at a coarser setting.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 6, 2023
That allowed the model to simulate the fine-scale atmospheric processes that give rise to clouds, which in coarser models have to be estimated.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 16, 2023
Ex-Inspector Blore looked coarser and clumsier in build.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
Is it a mistake to always default to the view that the people in the mirror universe are driven by the coarsest possible factors, by racism and greed, for example?
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2023
The first time you sharpen a blade, you use the coarsest setting first to establish a completely new bevel.
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2018
Areas closest to the river and its branches rose the highest in elevation, because they got the most doses of the coarsest sediment.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 3, 2018
And by the way, do you like my fashionable new hairshirt, made with only the coarsest of goat hair?
From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2016
The visitor was a stout man in cracked, mud-caked boots and a heavy brown robe of the coarsest roughspun, his features hidden by a cowl, his hands drawn up into voluminous sleeves.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.