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definitions

lewd

[ lood ]
/ lud /
|
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.

RELATED WORDS

eroticism, obscenity, vulgarity, lechery, ribaldry, prurience, pornography, wickedness, dirtiness, incontinence, impurity, corruptness, debauchery, carnality, dissoluteness, lustfulness, grossness, depravity, evilness, lasciviousness

Nearby words

  1. levulose,
  2. levulosemia,
  3. levy,
  4. levy en masse,
  5. lew,
  6. lewdly,
  7. lewes,
  8. lewes, george henry,
  9. lewis,
  10. lewis acid

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for lewdness

British Dictionary definitions for lewdness

lewd

/ (luːd) /

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 lewdness

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper