"Porcine" is a semi-common word with a serious tone.

Used literally, it's pretty neutral and not an insult. You might use it to talk about things that involve pigs or are made of pork, as in "porcine DNA," "a porcine virus," or "[The meal had] pickled seasonal vegetables, foils for the porcine richness" (Washington Post).

In fact, when you use "porcine" literally to refer to pigs, it can come off rather funny because it makes you sound ridiculously serious. Like when The Verge referred to "half of the world’s pigs — some 700 million animals" as "a porcine horde."

But when used figuratively in reference to humans, "porcine" is very insulting, just like it's insulting to refer to any person as a pig (especially a police officer, which English speakers have a long, nasty history of doing). When you're trying to sound insulting, then, you might talk about porcine characters, faces, features, eyes, greed, filth, etc. 

Just tread carefully when you do, because not only is "porcine" a nasty label to apply to people, but also a nasty way to refer to pigs! As John Oliver recently pointed out, "Pigs are awesome. They're one of the most intelligent animals on the planet... To use a phrase that the police never seem to appreciate, it's actually an honor to be compared to a pig." So, if you're someone who cares deeply about respecting other species, you might decide to include "porcine" only in your receptive vocabulary (the words you comprehend) while excluding it from your productive vocabulary (the words you use yourself).

"Nick is far from loveable. Even when he is leaving unduly sweet voice mails for his wife, a storm hovers on Ferrell’s brow; when his porcine eyes aren't dull or hazed with alcohol, they seem mean."
— Mary Pols, Time, 9 May 2011

"Is there any reason why a lot of depictions of orcs in Dungeons & Dragons and other media depict orcs as porcine to a degree; either as outright walking pigs or at least having porcine features like small tusks or piglike noses?"
— User TrashAccount2908, Reddit, 2023

has this page helped you understand "porcine"?

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If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "porcine" without saying "piggy" or "sloppy."

try it out:

(Source)

In fiction, we often bump into porcine villains, like Mr. Perkins here, who runs the Bank of Evil in Despicable Me. As soon as we see his porcine face, we know he's greedy, dangerous, and even cruel.

The same kind of porcine villains appear in City of Ember, Animal Farm, and, according to TVTropes.org, at least a hundred other stories.

Do you believe that this trope, this "porcine villain" trope, has value and should continue to be used? Or do you find it overdone or even morally problematic? Why?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for March is "Tidbits and Titles: Books That Became Movies!"

I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. And every answer will be a book that has been made into a movie. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Let's play!

Here's a quote from the book: "Lieutenant Dunbar had fallen in love. He had fallen in love with this wild, beautiful country and everything it contained. It was the kind of love people dream of having with other people: selfless and free of doubt, reverent and everlasting." 

Here are some words and phrases that often appear in that book: Bears, buffalo, camp, ears, eyes, face, fire, head, horse, lodge, medicine, miles, pony, prairie, river, smoke, Spirit, village, warriors.

What's the book's title?

review this word:

1. Near opposites of PORCINE, in its figurative sense, include

A. RARE, FAMOUS, and GILT-EDGED (elegant, or valuable).
B. SLIM, CLEAN, and OPENHANDED (generous, or freely giving).
C. HEAVY, BURDENED, and SADDLED (weighed down with responsibilities).

2. A porcine character in a novel will move with _____.

A. coos and giggles
B. grunts and squeals
C. deep sighs and slow steps

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: Dances with Wolves.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.