crass
crass
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for crass is /kræs/.
Syllable Breakdown
The word crass is a single-syllable word.
/kræs/ (The entire word is one syllable.)
Word Form Variations
The term crass is primarily an adjective, and its variations are:
Adjective (Positive Degree): crass
Adjective (Comparative Degree): crasser
Adjective (Superlative Degree): crassest
Adverb: crassly
Noun: crassness (The quality or state of being crass)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
The primary part of speech for crass is an adjective.
Adjective 🗣️
Crass (Adjective)
Definition: Lacking sensitivity, refinement, or intelligence; showing poor taste or an inability to understand or appreciate fine distinction. Often used to describe remarks or behavior that are excessively vulgar, materialistic, or insensitive.
Synonyms: coarse, vulgar, boorish, unrefined, insensitive, tasteless, obtuse, unsophisticated.
Antonyms: refined, sensitive, sophisticated, subtle, polite, cultured, discerning.
Definition: Concerned only with what is physical, material, or immediate, to the exclusion of what is spiritual, intellectual, or sophisticated.
Synonyms: materialistic, ignoble, gross, purely physical.
Antonyms: spiritual, intellectual, elevated, lofty.
Adverb 🗣️
Crassly (Adverb)
Definition: In a way that lacks sensitivity, refinement, or intelligence; in a vulgar or grossly materialistic manner.
Synonyms: vulgarly, coarsely, insensitively, tastelessly, boorishly.
Antonyms: subtly, sensitively, politely, discerningly, elegantly.
Noun 🗣️
Crassness (Noun)
Definition: The quality or state of being crass; a marked lack of sensitivity, refinement, or intellectual depth.
Synonyms: vulgarity, coarseness, boorishness, insensitivity, tastelessness, materialism.
Antonyms: refinement, sensitivity, subtlety, elegance, culture, sophistication.
Examples of Use
Books and Literature
Political Commentary: "The commentator's remarks betrayed a crass indifference to the suffering of those affected by the policy change, focusing only on the potential financial gain."
Literary Criticism: "The novel's abrupt, sensationalist ending was deemed crass by critics, cheapening the thoughtful build-up of the preceding chapters." (As seen in literary reviews and academic essays.)
Newspapers and Online Publications
News/Opinion: "The CEO's suggestion that workers simply 'find better jobs' was widely criticized as a crass statement, ignoring the systemic issues in the labor market." (Financial Times, May 2023)
Arts Review: "The film relied on such a crass level of slapstick humor that it failed to connect with the audience on any emotional level." (The Guardian, October 2024)
Technology/Culture: "Some analysts argue that the company's aggressive and public pursuit of profit, even at the expense of user privacy, is simply crass capitalism." (Wired, January 2024)
Entertainment and Public Discourse
Television/Film Review: "While some enjoyed the dark humor, others found the protagonist's constant, insensitive jokes about serious topics to be utterly crass." (From a TV show discussion on Reddit, 2024)
Social Media/General Discourse: "That influencer's post, showing off her lavish vacation while discussing global poverty, was just peak crassness and tone-deafness."
Music Critique: "The lyrics of the new pop track are accused of being crassly commercial, prioritizing catchy but empty hooks over any substantive message." (Pitchfork review, June 2023)
Political Debate: "The candidate's attack ad was seen as a crass attempt to distract voters from their own poor policy record." (Reported in multiple political news outlets, November 2024)
10 Famous Quotes Using Crass
"The kids were just crass, I had to look around and see whose wall this smile was painted on." (David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust," 1972)
"Art was the very antithesis of crass moralism." (Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety)
"The only kind of peace I have ever known is the peace of the soul, which is not the peace of the crass and the complacent." (Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island)
"The crass simplicity of the man, and his air of thinking his opinion unassailable, almost took my breath away." (Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie)
"When the most crass and material-minded of civilizations sets about the destruction of an ancient and beautiful city, it is a sacrilege." (J.B. Priestley, The English Journey)
"Jesus died for his own sins, not mine." (Crass, quoted from their album Stations of the Crass)
"This is a book about the end of the world, not in the crass sense of a global catastrophe, but in the private sense of all the worlds we create for ourselves and lose." (Michael Chabon, Manhood for Amateurs)
"If philosophy is to be religious, how can she be anything else than a place of escape from the crassness of reality's surface?" (William James, Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking)
"He was a good man, though mewed up in crassness." (M. P. Shiel, The Last Miracle)
"The worst sin a writer can commit is to be boring; the second worst is to be crassly sentimental." (Joyce Carol Oates, attributed)
Etymology
The word crass comes from Latin and its journey into English shows a shift from a neutral description of thickness or density to its modern meaning of insensitivity or vulgarity.
Etymological Explanation of "Crass"
Latin Origin (The Root): The word traces back to the Latin adjective crassus, which simply meant "thick," "dense," "solid," or "fat."
Think of something physically thick, like a crassus (dense) forest or a crassus (thick) layer of dust.
Entry into English: It was borrowed into English in the 15th and 16th centuries. The earliest use maintained the direct Latin sense, meaning:
First Known Meaning (circa 1500s): "Thick," "gross," or "dense" in a physical or substantial sense. It was often used in medical or scientific contexts, like referring to a "crass humor" (a thick bodily fluid) or a "crass air" (a thick, heavy atmosphere).
The Shift in Meaning (Modern Use): Over time, the physical idea of "thickness" was applied metaphorically to the mind and character.
If a substance is "thick" or "dense," it lacks fineness and clarity. This led to the meaning: "lacking sharpness," "dull," or "stupid."
By the 18th century, the word fully evolved to describe not just stupidity, but a lack of intellectual or moral refinement, which gives us its primary modern definition: "grossly insensitive," "vulgar," or "unrefined."
In easy terms: "Crass" started out meaning literally "thick" or "dense." We then started using "thick" to describe a dull or unthinking person, and eventually, it came to describe actions or words that are so "thick" they lack any fine feeling or good taste.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Crass
Because crass is a descriptive adjective, it doesn't form many true, fixed idioms. However, it is frequently used in specific, common descriptive phrases. Here is a list of common and supplemental phrases using the word or its synonyms to convey a similar effect:
Phrases Using "Crass"
Crass Commercialism: An excessive or offensive focus on profit, often at the expense of quality, taste, or art.
Crass Materialism: A preoccupation with material wealth and possessions, showing a lack of interest in spiritual or intellectual matters.
Crass Remark/Comment: A statement that is blatantly insensitive, vulgar, or lacking in good judgment.
Crass Indifference: A noticeable and offensive lack of concern or empathy.
Crass Humor: Comedy that is excessively vulgar, tasteless, or relies on low-brow jokes.
Supplemental Phrases (Using Synonyms for "Crass")
Gross Miscalculation: A severe and obvious mistake or lack of foresight (using "gross," a synonym for the original Latin sense of "crass").
Boorish Behavior: Rudeness or insensitivity that mirrors the unrefined nature of crassness.
A Tasteless Display: An exhibition or action that lacks aesthetic judgment or propriety (similar to a crass action).
An Obtuse Reply: A response showing a dullness of intellect or understanding (like a crass mind).
Vulgarity for Vulgarity’s Sake: A crass pursuit of offensive or low-brow content without any redeeming artistic or intellectual purpose.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of crass from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
