lewd

[lood]

See more synonyms for lewd on Thesaurus.com

adjective, lewd·er, lewd·est.

inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious.
obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.
Obsolete.
1. low, ignorant, or vulgar.
2. base, vile, or wicked, especially of a person.
3. bad, worthless, or poor, especially of a thing.

Origin of lewd

before 900; Middle English leud, lewed, Old English lǣwede lay, unlearned

Related formslewd·ly, adverblewd·ness, noun

Can be confusedlewd obscene pornographic profanatory profane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for lewd

naughty, salacious, pornographic, ribald, off-color, erotic, obscene, racy, lascivious, suggestive, coarse, vile, bawdy, X-rated, blue, fast, filthy, gross, hard-core, immodest

Examples from the Web for lewd

Contemporary Examples of lewd

One interpretation suggests he is the embodiment of whisky, a lewd allusion to a tenured tradition of Scottish alcoholism.
Scotland’s ‘Yes’ Campaign and the Myth of Scottish Equality
Noah Caldwell
September 18, 2014
He was arrested the same day on felony charges of forcible rape, lewd acts on a minor, and kidnapping to commit a sexual offense.
Woman Who Says She Was Held Captive for 10 Years Feared Deportation
Caitlin Dickson
May 23, 2014
Elementary School in Los Angeles, has so far been charged with 15 counts of sexual abuse and lewd acts on a child.
Los Angeles’s School Nightmare: Another Sex-Abuse Scandal
Christine Pelisek
January 25, 2013
The trial brought accusations of lewd rabble-rousing and rampant sexism at corporate events—bad publicity to say the least.
Microsoft Puts Two Women in Charge of Windows
Alex Klein
November 14, 2012
Did the ‘Best in Show’ actor commit a “lewd act” in a seedy Hollywood theater known for such cinematic fare as ‘Nut Busters’?
The Tale Behind Fred Willard’s Arrest in an Adult Film Theater
Christine Pelisek
July 19, 2012

Historical Examples of lewd

They see everywhere, even in the most innocent objects, the most lewd allusions.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
All lewd women are diseased some of the time and some lewd women are diseased all of the time.
Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls
Various
I felt some pricks of shame at this lewd reference to my father.
Athelstane Ford
Allen Upward
Their humour was obscene and he was never at a loss for the lewd remark.
The Trembling of a Leaf
William Somerset Maugham
"Yea; mockers and scorners are Godwin and his lewd sons," answered the monk.
Harold, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for lewd

lewd

adjective

characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire; obscene
obsolete
1. wicked
2. ignorant

Derived Formslewdly, adverblewdness, noun

Word Origin for lewd

C14: from Old English lǣwde lay, ignorant; see lay ³

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 lewd

adj.

Old English læwede "nonclerical," of uncertain origin but probably ultimately from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Latin laicus (see lay (adj.)). Sense of "unlettered, uneducated" (early 13c.) descended to "coarse, vile, lustful" by late 14c. Related: Lewdly; lewdness.