licentious

[ lahy-sen-shuhs ]

/ laɪˈsɛn ʃəs /

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adjective

sexually unrestrained; lascivious; libertine; lewd.

unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral.

going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of licentious

First recorded in 1525–35, licentious is from the Latin word licentiōsus unrestrained. See license, -ous

SYNONYMS FOR licentious

2. abandoned, profligate.

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ANTONYMS FOR licentious

2. lawful.

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Related forms

li·cen·tious·ly, adverbli·cen·tious·ness, nounnon·li·cen·tious, adjectivenon·li·cen·tious·ly, adverb

non·li·cen·tious·ness, nouno·ver·li·cen·tious, adjectiveo·ver·li·cen·tious·ly, adverbo·ver·li·cen·tious·ness, nounun·li·cen·tious, adjectiveun·li·cen·tious·ly, adverbun·li·cen·tious·ness, noun

Can be confusedlascivious licentious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for licentiousness

But the show is deeply concerned with her growing up as a proxy for American capitalism and licentiousness.
‘Mad Men,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The Americans’: Reading Prestige TV Dramas as YA Fiction|Alyssa Rosenberg|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This enabled him to resist courageously the deceitful pleasures produced by licentiousness and debaucheries.
The Catholic World; Vol. IV.; October, 1866, to March, 1867.|E. Rameur
The licentiousness of the press helps to destroy everything stable in governments.
Catholic World, Vol. XIII, April to September, 1871|Various
And this shows the mistake of those who imagine that friendship gives a privilege to licentiousness and sin.
Treatises on Friendship and Old Age|Marcus Tullius Cicero

Its subjects were, the infidelity and licentiousness of that age.
Young's Night Thoughts|Edward Young
In our days the increase of licentiousness is but the result of having rejected the Truth of God.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein

British Dictionary definitions for licentiousness

licentious

/ (laɪˈsɛnʃəs) /

adjective

sexually unrestrained or promiscuous

rare showing disregard for convention

Derived Formslicentiously, adverblicentiousness, noun

Word Origin for licentious

C16: from Latin licentiōsus capricious, from licentia licence

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