prurient
Americanadjective
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having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.
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causing lasciviousness or lust.
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having a restless desire or longing.
adjective
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unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices
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exciting or encouraging lustfulness; erotic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prurient
1630–40; < Latin prūrient- (stem of prūriēns ), present participle of prūrīre to itch
Explanation
Something is prurient if it focuses attention on sex not in an artistic way or to teach something, but purely to appeal to your baser instincts. If something is prurient, it's sure to offend somebody. An MTV series that includes explicit scenes might be considered prurient and have censors screaming to have it taken off the air. The word prurient comes from a Latin root that means literally, "to itch,” and you may have heard the medical term pruritus, which means "severe itching." The word can also be used to describe any kind of perverse interest, like onlookers who have a prurient curiosity about the details of a particularly gory crime scene.
Vocabulary lists containing prurient
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
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Drama High
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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.
Nothing is prurient, but what’s in the film is real and honest and messy, which is likely what it felt like if you had been in the middle of it.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
It’ll be purely sensational, purely prurient, even as it coldly rips through reputations, jobs and legacies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Neither satisfying the public’s prurient curiosity, nor allowing Epstein conspiracy theorists to second-guess prosecutorial judgment, nor placating a president’s political base is a valid reason to break the normal rule.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
Although KBS has defended its publication of the recording, others say the decision was the lowest point in what they regard as frantic, often prurient coverage of Lee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
To call such a man ‘ambitious,’ to figure him as the prurient windbag described above, seems to me the poorest solecism.
From Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Carlyle, Thomas
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.
