lascivious

[luh-siv-ee-uh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lascivious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd: a lascivious, girl-chasing old man.

arousing sexual desire: lascivious photographs.

indicating sexual interest or expressive of lust or lewdness: a lascivious gesture.

Origin of lascivious

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin lascīvi(a) playfulness, wantonness (lascīv(us) playful, wanton + -ia -ia) + -ous

Related formslas·civ·i·ous·ly, adverblas·civ·i·ous·ness, nouno·ver·las·civ·i·ous, adjectiveo·ver·las·civ·i·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·las·civ·i·ous·ness, noun

Can be confusedlascivious licentious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lascivious

The lascivious sex predator is out; the deep-pocketed caped crusader is most definitely in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A married politician is sent a series of lascivious photographs by an attractive female admirer.
U.K. Tabloid Absurdly Claims ‘Public Interest’ Served in Politician’s Sex Sting|Lizzie Crocker|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hard to stomach, but their lascivious glances told that tale.
A Nation of Onlookers: India’s Violence Against Women and America’s Guns|Dilip D’Souza|December 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
From Ryan Lochte to Tom Daley, the Web is awash with lascivious pictures of the men of the London Games.
The Olympics or Soft Porn? Female, Gay Fans Gawking at Male Athletes|Tricia Romano|August 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST

That must be why he seems to have kept this lascivious picture out of public view.
The Bible’s Gypsy Rose|Blake Gopnik|March 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In all these lascivious scenes we see the male voluptuously fondling the woman's foot.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 (of 6)|Havelock Ellis
Salvator, amidst the pride of lascivious wealth, and the outlawed distress of impious poverty.
Modern Painters, Volume V (of 5)|John Ruskin
She was only eighteen, but possessed a lascivious beauty, very dangerous to men.
Legends of the Rhine|Wilhelm Ruland
Pepys might well wonder what a man may come to, he who had been born when “lascivious dancing” was considered a heinous crime.
The History of Signboards|Jacob Larwood
They dance, their curves leave traces of caresses in the air, their undulations are a most lascivious music.
Contemporary Belgian Poetry|Various

British Dictionary definitions for lascivious

lascivious

adjective

lustful; lecherous

exciting sexual desire

Derived Formslasciviously, adverblasciviousness, noun

Word Origin for lascivious

C15: from Late Latin lascīviōsus, from Latin lascīvia wantonness, from lascīvus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lascivious

adj.

mid-15c., from Middle French lascivieux or directly from Late Latin lasciviosus (used in a scolding sense by Isidore and other early Church writers), from Latin lascivia "lewdness, playfulness, frolicsomeness, jolity," from lascivus "lewd, playful, frolicsome, wanton," from PIE *las-ko-, from *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (cf. Sanskrit -lasati "yearns," lasati "plays, frolics," Hittite ilaliya- "to desire, covet," Greek laste "harlot," Old Church Slavonic laska "flattery," Slovak laska "love," Old Irish lainn "greedy," Gothic lustus, Old English lust "lust"). Related: Lasciviously; lasciviousness. In 17c. also with a verbal form, lasciviate.

lascivious

adjective

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Origin of lascivious

Examples from the Web for lascivious

lascivious

adjective

Word Origin for lascivious