licentious
[lahy-sen-shuh s]
- sexually unrestrained; lascivious; libertine; lewd.
- unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral.
- going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules.
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Origin of licentious
Synonyms
See more synonyms for licentious on Thesaurus.com2. abandoned, profligate.
Antonyms
2. lawful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for licentious
Contemporary Examples
For Shaftel this kind of licentious behavior amounts to “conspicuous consumption disguised as urbanity.”
“Licentious and immoral practices seem to get great head amongst young people,” he preached.
He also accuses Isabel of repeatedly trying to seduce him, although he supposedly refused to succumb to her licentious ways.
And shame on Tiger, for another kind of promiscuity—the licentious use of his father.
Historical Examples
Or would you ascertain whether he is licentious by putting your wife or daughter into his hands?
LawsPlato
Cicero was of low birth, and Metellus was the son of a licentious woman.
Query, Is this not encouraging the Inhabitants in their licentious and riotous disposition?
The Siege of BostonAllen French
I refrained from expressing my abhorrence of that licentious doctrine because of my curiosity.
A Set of SixJoseph Conrad
Heretical worship was of a most licentious as well as disgusting kind.
The Superstitions of WitchcraftHoward Williams
licentious
- sexually unrestrained or promiscuous
- rare showing disregard for convention
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin licentiōsus capricious, from licentia licence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for licentious
adj.
"morally unrestrained," 1530s, from Medieval Latin licentiosus "full of license, unrestrained," from Latin licentia (see license). Related: Licentiously; licentiousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper