vulgarise
Strip of refinement
Vulgarise is the British spelling of vulgarize.
To vulgarise something is to make it coarse, crude, or lacking in refinement, or to make it accessible to ordinary people in a way that strips away its sophistication or complexity.
The word carries a whiff of snobbery, implying that what appeals to common tastes must be inferior.
Critics accused the adaptation of vulgarising the novel.
A related sense means to make widely known or popular, though this use is less common today.
Diminish in worth
- degradeLower in standing
- devalueReduce perceived worth
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- defileTo violate sanctity
tarnish · sully · demean · diminish · depreciate · coarsen · besmirch · taint
Make surface uneven
- profaneIrreverent toward the sacred
- obsceneGrossly offensive to decency
- indecentOffensive to accepted standards
- lewdObscenely sexual
bawdy · ribald · raunchy · smutty · crass · earthy · scurrilous · tasteless
Dominant cultural current
- commercializeExploit for profit
- mass-marketFor widespread commercial sale
- commodifyConvert into tradeable goods
- sensationalizeExaggerate for impact
tabloidize · trivialize · democratize · spread · disseminate · broadcast · publicize · accessible
Make less intellectually demanding
- oversimplifyRemove essential complexity
- water downWeaken by adding liquid
- diluteReduce by adding solvent
- reduceMake smaller in degree
distill · popularize · condense · abridge · paraphrase · translate · boil down · break down
cheapen
Diminish in worth
defile · tarnish · sully · demean · diminish · depreciate · coarsen · besmirch · taint · adulterate
roughen
Make surface uneven
- profaneIrreverent toward the sacred
- obsceneGrossly offensive to decency
- indecentOffensive to accepted standards
lewd · bawdy · ribald · raunchy · smutty · crass · earthy · scurrilous · tasteless · offensive
mainstream
Dominant cultural current
- commercializeExploit for profit
- mass-marketFor widespread commercial sale
- commodifyConvert into tradeable goods
sensationalize · tabloidize · trivialize · democratize · spread · disseminate · broadcast · publicize · accessible · widespread
dumb down
Make less intellectually demanding
- oversimplifyRemove essential complexity
- water downWeaken by adding liquid
- diluteReduce by adding solvent
reduce · distill · popularize · condense · abridge · paraphrase · translate · boil down · break down · layman's terms
vulgariseintellectualize
Analyze using reason alone
rarify · specialize · complicate · professionalize · restrict
vulgarity, vulgarism, vulgarian, vulgarize, vulgarized, vulgarians, vulgarizing, vulgarization, vulgarizes