Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a rough texture or consisting of relatively large particles: Used to describe a material, substance, or surface that is not smooth or fine.
   • Lacking refinement, politeness, or good taste: Used to describe behavior, manners, language, or a person that is rude, vulgar, or uncultured.
   • Of inferior or poor quality: Used to describe something that is of low grade or value.

Usage Examples

• Describing texture or particles:
  • The fabric had a coarse weave that felt scratchy against the skin.
  • They used coarse sand for the construction mix.
• Describing behavior or taste:
  • His coarse jokes made everyone at the dinner table uncomfortable.
  • The film was criticized for its coarse humor and appeal to vulgar tastes.
• Describing quality:
  • The statue was made from a coarse metal, unlike the fine bronze used for the original.

Advanced Usage

• "coarse-grained": Having a coarse texture or structure; can also describe a simplistic analysis.
  • The wood was coarse-grained and difficult to sand smoothly.
  • His argument was too coarse-grained to capture the nuances of the issue.
• In a comparative/superlative sense:
  • This wool is coarser than the merino variety.
  • Of all the salts, this one has the coarsest granules.

Variants and Related Words

• Coarsen (verb): To make or become coarse.
  • Years of manual labor had coarsened his hands.
• Coarseness (noun): The quality or state of being coarse.
  • The coarseness of his language was shocking.

Synonyms

• Rough (for texture): Having an uneven or irregular surface.
• Crude (for behavior/taste): Lacking grace, education, or polish; in a natural or raw state.
• Vulgar (for behavior/taste): Lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined.
• Unrefined (for quality/taste): Not purified or processed; lacking cultural polish.

Antonyms

• Fine (for texture/quality): Of high quality; consisting of small particles.
• Refined (for behavior/taste): Elegant and cultured in appearance, manner, or taste.
• Polished (for behavior/manners): Refined, sophisticated, or elegant.
• Smooth (for texture): Having an even and regular surface.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "Coarse fishing": (British English) A term for angling for freshwater fish other than game fish like salmon and trout.
  • He spent the weekend engaged in coarse fishing at the local pond.
• "To have a coarse tongue": To be habitually rude or vulgar in speech.
  • The old sailor was known to have a coarse tongue.

Adjective

1. of low or inferior quality or value
   • of what coarse metal ye are molded- Shakespeare
   • produced...the common cloths used by the poorer population
2. lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
   • he had coarse manners but a first-rate mind
   • behavior that branded him as common
   • an untutored and uncouth human being
   • an uncouth soldier--a real tough guy
   • appealing to the vulgar taste for violence
   • the vulgar display of the newly rich
3. of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles
   • coarse meal
   • coarse sand
   • a coarse weave