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 lewdness

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

Examples from the Web for lewdness

Historical Examples of lewdness

They are not the fruits of love but of a sexual union based on idleness and lewdness.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
Ye've followed him so long in lewdness that now yell follow him in conversion!
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini
Messalina, wife to the emperor Claudius, infamous for her lewdness.
Dryden's Works (13 of 18): Translations; Pastorals
John Dryden
And these games are reckoned devout in proportion to their lewdness.
The City of God, Volume I
Aurelius Augustine
By the French and Anglo-Saxon laws, lewdness was thus punished.
La Sorcire: The Witch of the Middle Ages
Jules Michelet

British Dictionary definitions for lewdness

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 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.