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

Related Words for lasciviousness

debauchery, lust, lustfulness, prurience, lewdness

British Dictionary definitions for lasciviousness

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 lasciviousness

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.