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
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.
Speaking to the BBC outside, while some people described it as inappropriate or "lewd", many others, including those with young children, were relaxed about its presence.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024
The law forbids shipment of every "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance."
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024
LCB officials also said they would not issue formal lewd conduct citations or violations to the LGBTQ+ clubs and bars inspected last weekend.
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
That she was lewd, tonguing her teeth at them, upside down and dying, that she vomited a serpent that turned to smoke when it hit the ground.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
