What's a single word for a situation where a person swears a lot? [duplicate]
Two adjectives come to my mind for a person who uses excessive foul language:
1) crass
having or showing no understanding of what is proper or acceptable; rude and insensitive (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crass)
2) vulgar (as you used in the title of your own question)
not having or showing good manners, good taste, or politeness (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vulgar)
Both of these suggestions are more reflective of the person's demeanor or temperament than the cursing itself, but I think they could be more colorful (pun intended) alternatives.
I hope this is helpful to you!
Two excellent choices exist. The first can be used as either an adjective or noun, in slightly different forms:
foulmouth, adj. and n.
B. n.
A foul-mouthed person.
["foulmouth, adj. and n.". OED Online. June 2016. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/73916 (accessed August 21, 2016).]
The adjective 'foulmouth' is obsolete in that form. Instead, the current version is 'foulmouthed':
foul-mouthed, adj.
Of persons and their utterances: Using obscene, profane, or scurrilous language.
["foul-mouthed, adj.". OED Online. June 2016. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/73917 (accessed August 21, 2016).]
The second choice is not so commonly used, and is only found as a noun. However, there's no mistaking its meaning:
muck-spout n. regional and slang a person who uses obscene or foul language.
["muck, n.1". OED Online. June 2016. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123164?redirectedFrom=muck-spout (accessed August 21, 2016).]
An alternative to @JEL's answer is the noun
potty-mouth
Dictionary.com. The Dictionary of American Slang. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/potty-mouth (accessed: August 21, 2016)
The corresponding adjective is
potty-mouthed : using or characterized by bad language.
I wouldn't call them a single word.
I would say "Barry swears like a sailor".
I could potentially alter it to "swears like a trooper", but people who know one phrase will still understand the other.
This has several advantages over any single word answer I can think of, in that it:
1) Is easily understood and used in many countries. Foreign language speakers will likely even understand if the phrase is translated literally. In fact, Italian even has the same expression Bestemmia come uno scaricatore di porto
2) Doesn't sound childish.
3) Refers specifically to swearing, not to being rude generally.
Crude
This is a polite way of describing someone that swears a lot, e.g. 'Martin is a bit crude, particularly when he has had a few'.
There are more descriptive terms, for instance, someone that uses every opportunity to insult at a personal level (rather than just using four letter words due to a lack of vocabulary) could be deemed to be 'passive-aggressive'. For instance 'Stop being so passive-aggressive!' - this more descriptive term can be more useful if you don't care about the words so much (who hasn't heard them before?) but do not like being insulted.