COARSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does coarse mean? 

• COARSE (adjective)
  The adjective COARSE has 3 senses:

1. of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles

2. lacking refinement or cultivation or taste

3. of low or inferior quality or value

  Familiarity information: COARSE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COARSE (adjective)

Comparative: coarser   
Superlative: coarsest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles

Synonyms:

coarse; harsh

Context example:

a coarse weave

Similar:

coarse-grained; large-grained (not having a fine texture)

coarse-grained; farinaceous; grainy; granular; granulose; gritty; mealy (composed of or covered with particles resembling meal in texture or consistency)

granulated (made grainy or formed into granules)

plush-like; plushy ((of textures) resembling plush)

loose; open ((of textures) full of small openings or gaps)

Also:

rough; unsmooth (having or caused by an irregular surface)

Attribute:

texture (the feel of a surface or a fabric)

Antonym:

fine (of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles)

Derivation:

coarseness (looseness or roughness in texture (as of cloth))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lacking refinement or cultivation or taste

Synonyms:

coarse; common; rough-cut; uncouth; vulgar

Context example:

the vulgar display of the newly rich

Similar:

unrefined ((used of persons and their behavior) not refined; uncouth)

Derivation:

coarseness (the quality of lacking taste and refinement)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Of low or inferior quality or value

Synonyms:

coarse; common

Context example:

produced...the common cloths used by the poorer population

Similar:

inferior (of low or inferior quality)

 Context examples 

Ducts that contain neoplastic cells with occasional nucleoli and coarse chromatin may also be present.

(Intermediate Grade Ductal Breast Carcinoma In Situ, NCI Thesaurus)

It was of coarse sealskin—the straight-haired skin, with a leather thong to bind it.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is characterized by coarse fiber bundles approximately 30 um in diameter.

(Immature Bone, NCI Thesaurus)

It is filled with rough salt of the quality used for preserving hides and other of the coarser commercial purposes.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Gone was the coarse brown tint!

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The determination of the amount of coarse granular casts present in a urine sample.

(Coarse Granular Cast Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A substance derived from any of several Old World coarse prickly-leaved shrubs and subshrubs including the plant Silybum marianum.

(Milk thistle, NCI Thesaurus)

There was for me no strangeness to it, to the rough clothes, the coarse faces, the wild laughter, and the lurching cabin walls and swaying sea-lamps.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

From its open mouth poured a yellow stream of coarse gold-dust and nuggets.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The nucleus is round or ovoid with coarse, irregularly clumped chromatin while the cytoplasm is typically pale blue with azurophilic (if any) granules.

(Lymphocyte, NCI Thesaurus)