lewd
Americanadjective
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inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious.
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obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.
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Obsolete.
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low, ignorant, or vulgar.
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base, vile, or wicked, especially of a person.
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bad, worthless, or poor, especially of a thing.
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adjective
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characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire; obscene
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obsolete
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wicked
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ignorant
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lewd
First recorded before 900; Middle English leud, lewed, Old English lǣwede “lay, unlearned”
Explanation
Lewd remarks are sexually inappropriate. Personal and sexually explicit comments might be acceptable when said in private, but they are not all right when said to strangers in public. Lewd has to do with sexual behavior or remarks that are highly inappropriate or obscene, often because of what's done or said is in public or to someone who does not want that kind of attention. The couple who might make sexually suggestive jokes in private with each other would be completely out of place doing the same thing in the supermarket. What's more, committing a lewd act or making inappropriate comments is socially — and legally — unacceptable, and it can even land the perpetrator in jail.
Vocabulary lists containing lewd
Novel Study: Hamlet, Acts 1–2
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Ophelia
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The Sun Also Rises
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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 law forbids shipment of every "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance."
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024
The Comstock Act, championed by anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock and passed in 1873, made it a federal crime to send or receive any material deemed "obscene, lewd or lascivious".
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2024
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board will immediately suspend enforcement of its lewd conduct rule after inspections at Seattle LGBTQ+ nightlife venues last weekend drew sharp criticism from community members.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2024
I found a devout grandma in Virginia trying to tell her grandson that his lewd tweets break her heart—but she didn’t @, and he didn’t follow her.
From Slate • Dec. 12, 2022
“Because you’re horrible. You’re loud and lewd and...treacherous. Brum warned us that Grisha could be charming.”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
