devulgarize means to free from what is vulgar or obscene. It carries an Arena rating of 1279, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, devulgarize ranks #1,006 of 13,217 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #5,011 of 13,217 for Most Malleable Words, #5,072 of 13,217 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #5,108 of 13,217 for The Improbable.
Why “devulgarize” is a great word
To remove vulgarity, coarseness, or obscenity, thereby refining or elevating something in character. Formed within English by derivation from the prefix de- (expressing removal or reversal) and the verb vulgarize (to make vulgar). Unlike bowdlerize, which implies a prudish, textual censorship, or refine, a general polishing that lacks this word's targeted focus, to devulgarize is to perform a deliberate act of cultural salvage. It is the sanding away of crude graffiti from a marble monument, the translation of a bawdy tavern song into a stately chamber piece, the conscious softening of a brutish accent into measured speech—a quiet, often quixotic, assertion that some things are worth saving from their own baseness.
Etymology
From de- + vulgarize.
verb
- To free from what is vulgar or obscene.“Shakespeare and Plutarch's "Lives" are very devulgarizing books.”
Words closest in meaning
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