erotic
Americanadjective
-
arousing or satisfying sexual desire.
an erotic dance.
- Synonyms:
- erogenous, aphrodisiac, sexy, sensuous
-
of, relating to, or treating of sexual love; amatory.
an erotic novel.
-
subject to or marked by strong sexual desire.
noun
-
an erotic poem.
-
an erotic person.
adjective
-
of, concerning, or arousing sexual desire or giving sexual pleasure
-
marked by strong sexual desire or being especially sensitive to sexual stimulation
noun
Usage
What does erotic mean? Erotic is an adjective used to describe things that are or are intended to be sexually arousing or pleasurable, as in erotic novel or erotic dancing. Example: It’s a regular bookstore, but it has an erotic literature section. Erotic can also be used to describe something that relates to or involves sex or sexual content, as in The virus was linked to ads on erotic websites. The related noun erotica refers to works like films and literature that are primarily erotic or that contain erotic elements. Material that contains graphic sexual content is often referred to as pornography or porn (epecially when that’s all it contains). Labelling things as erotic may be an attempt to indicate that sexual elements are only part of the content, or simply to make them sound more tasteful or highbrow. Much less commonly, erotic can be used as a noun to refer to a person who has intense sexual desire is easily sexually stimulated.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of erotic
1615–25; < Greek erōtikós of love, caused by love, given to love, equivalent to erōt- (stem of érōs ) Eros + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Use erotic to describe a sexy, sexy person. What makes that person so sexy? Maybe his or her erotic attitude or looks, meaning "arousing." The word erotic came into English from French — of course! — and can be traced back to the Greek word erōtikos, from erōs or erōt-, meaning “sexual love.” The adjective erotic is often used to describe a person’s carnal desires, but it can be used to characterize anything that’s sexual in nature or that arouses sexual desires, such as the erotic themes in a racy movie, an erotic dancer in a club, or erotic images in a painting.
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 duo released its debut album, “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret,” in 1981, then followed it with two more LPs before splitting in 1984.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025
Audre Lorde's "The Power of the Erotic" really was an inspiration for this.
From Salon • Nov. 1, 2024
The book, “Mating in Captivity: In Search of Erotic Intelligence,” was published in 2006.
From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2023
Plutarch, again, in the Erotic dialogue, alludes to "Er�s, where Aphrodite is not; Er�s apart from Aphrodite."
From A Problem in Greek Ethics Being an inquiry into the phenomenon of sexual inversion by Symonds, John Addington
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.
