risqué
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of risqué
1865–70; < French, past participle of risquer to risk
Explanation
Something risqué hints at sex or sexual content. risqué material isn't in your face or extreme — it's just a little naughty. When it comes to sexual material, porn features sex and hardly anything else. On the other end of the spectrum are movies, songs, and books that are simply risqué: these things just have a little sexual content. They might just mention sexual situations or sort of tease the viewer, but not show much. Things that are risqué are also called "spicy" or "racy."
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.
The “expectant widow” line was a morbid, vaguely risqué gag, the kind of joke that has been standard fare at the Correspondents’ Dinner and roasts for decades.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2026
Disorderly in its construction, “Tristram Shandy” is ribald and risqué in its content, yet charitable and affecting in tone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
In an interview with the BBC's Mark Savage in 2024, she described Chappell as a "larger-than-life, drag queen version of myself", who allows her to be rebellious and risqué.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026
Do you feel like audience reception to more risqué jokes has changed in recent years?
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2023
But the abbot, although generally tolerant of Mendel’s whims, had intervened: a monk coaxing mice to mate to understand heredity was a little too risqué, even for the Augustinians.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
