obscene
Americanadjective
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offensive to morality or decency; indecent; depraved.
obscene language.
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causing uncontrolled sexual desire.
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abominable; disgusting; repulsive.
adjective
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offensive or outrageous to accepted standards of decency or modesty
-
law (of publications) having a tendency to deprave or corrupt
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disgusting; repellent
an obscene massacre
Other Word Forms
- obscenely adverb
- obsceneness noun
- unobscene adjective
- unobscenely adverb
- unobsceneness noun
Etymology
Origin of obscene
First recorded in 1585–95, obscene is from the Latin word obscēnus, obscaenus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Police have registered a case under various sections of the law, including violating a female patient's privacy, publishing obscene material, voyeurism and cyber terrorism - which is a non-bailable offence.
From BBC
Not the 66% of its golden age, but still obscene by normal standards.
From MarketWatch
Unite's secretary general Sharon Graham said she welcomed help with costs, but the amount saved would be "quite small" with profits in the energy sector "obscene" and in need of an overhaul.
From BBC
That’s us all getting together and wanting to laugh about the things that are absurd, obscene, uncomfortable, because we’re all going through it together.
From Los Angeles Times
The effort to humanize Dahmer is both obscene and, sadly, textbook.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
