First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
coarse
adjective \ˈkȯrs\
: made up of large pieces : not fine
: having a rough quality
: rude or offensive
coars·ercoars·est
Full Definition of COARSE
1
: of ordinary or inferior quality or value : common
2
a (1) : composed of relatively large parts or particles <coarse sand> (2) : loose or rough in texture <coarse cloth> b : adjusted or designed for heavy, fast, or less delicate work <a coarse saw with large teeth> c : not precise or detailed with respect to adjustment or discrimination
3
: crude or unrefined in taste, manners, or language
4
: harsh, raucous, or rough in tone
5
chiefly British : of or relating to coarse fish <coarse fishing>
— coarse·ly adverb
— coarse·ness noun
See coarse defined for English-language learners
See coarse defined for kids
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Examples of COARSE
- He had a heavy face and a shrivelled nose and thick, coarse, bunched up skin. —Paul Theroux, Granta, Summer 1994
- She'd always been taught—and she'd felt it instinctively—that sun-braised cheeks, sallow skin and reddened hands were coarse and unsightly, the emblem of the foreigner and the day laborer. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road To Wellville, 1993
- Around the throbbing machinery was a frame of coarse wire net. —Ursula K. Le Guin, Harper's , August 1990
- He was a man of middle age with coarse, curly gray hair, a dark, pock-marked complexion and protruding, almost batrachian eyes. —Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999
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Origin of COARSE
Middle English cors, perhaps from course, noun
Related to COARSE
Synonym Discussion of COARSE
coarse, vulgar, gross, obscene, ribald mean offensive to good taste or morals. coarse implies roughness, rudeness, or crudeness of spirit, behavior, or language <found the coarse humor of coworkers offensive>. vulgar often implies boorishness or ill-breeding <a loud vulgar belch>. gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness <gross eating habits>. obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters <obscene language not allowed on the air>. ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent <entertained the campers with ribald folk songs>.
COARSER Defined for Kids
coarse
adjective \ˈkȯrs\
coars·ercoars·est
Definition of COARSE for Kids
1
: having a harsh or rough quality <coarse dry skin> <a coarse fabric>
2
: made up of large particles <coarse sand>
3
: crude in taste, manners, or language
4
: of poor or ordinary quality
— coarse·ly adverb
— coarse·ness noun
Medical Dictionary
coarse
adjective \ˈkō(ə)rs, ˈkȯ(ə)rs\
Medical Definition of COARSE
1
: visible to the naked eye or by means of a compound microscope <coarse particles>
2
of a tremor : of wide excursion <a coarse tremor of the extremities>
3
: harsh, raucous, or rough in tone—used of some sounds heard in auscultation in pathological states of the chest <coarse rales>
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