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scurrilous

 - 3 dictionary results

scur⋅ril⋅ous

  [skur-uh-luhs, skuhr-]
Use scurrilous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. grossly or obscenely abusive: a scurrilous attack on the mayor.
2. characterized by or using low buffoonery; coarsely jocular or derisive: a scurrilous jest.
Origin:
1570–80; scurrile + -ous

Related forms:
scur⋅ril⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
scur⋅ril⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. vituperative, insulting, offensive. 2. vulgar.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scurrilous
scur·ri·lous   (skûr'ə-ləs, skŭr'-)   
adj.  

  1. Given to the use of vulgar, coarse, or abusive language; foul-mouthed.

  2. Expressed in vulgar, coarse, and abusive language.

scur'ri·lous·ly adv., scur'ri·lous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

scurrilous 
"using such language as only the licence of a buffoon can warrant" [Johnson], 1576, from scurrile "coarsely joking" (1508, implied in scurrility), from L. scurrilis "buffoonlike," from scurra "fashionable city idler," later "buffoon." According to Klein, "an Etruscan loan-word."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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