Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

lewd

American  
[lood] / lud /

adjective

lewder, lewdest

  1. inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious.

  2. obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.

  3. Obsolete.

    1. low, ignorant, or vulgar.

    2. base, vile, or wicked, especially of a person.

    3. bad, worthless, or poor, especially of a thing.

lewd British  
/ luːd /

adjective

  1. characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire; obscene

  2. obsolete

    1. wicked

    2. ignorant

"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

Other Word Forms

  • lewdly adverb
  • lewdness noun

Etymology

Origin of lewd

First recorded before 900; Middle English leud, lewed, Old English lǣwede “lay, unlearned”

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.

Now, Santa-themed bar crawls and office holiday parties are outfitted with holiday-themed sweaters and sweatshirts, bringing the same energy as someone loudly interrupting a conversation to tell a lewd joke.

From Slate • Dec. 12, 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

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 federal judge’s rulings may indirectly help at least one of those cases since the state “will have a hard time proving that drag queens are lewd on their own,” Israel said.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2023

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.