vulgarism

plural vulgarisms

1. countableuncountableVulgarity.

   Amidst his manuscript notes for Democratic Vistas he [Walt Whitman] wrote himself a reminder to "offset the statement of depravity [and] vulgarism ... of the masses by a full acknowledgment of the latent heroism."

   Walt Whitman quoted in 1998, Richard J. Ellis, The Dark Side of the Left: Illiberal Egalitarianism in America (page 79)

2. countableuncountablegrammarA word or term that is considered offensive or vulgar.

   "Shit" is a vulgarism.

3. countableuncountableA spelling, word, or phrase used in common speech that is considered improper or incorrect for formal communication.

   Editors of newspapers allow more vulgarisms to go to print today than they used to.

   1 more example

   We never descended to the vulgarism of a quarrel. People said that neither of us had a heart, but it appears to me that politeness is an excellent substitute.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Result”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 233