licentiousness
Americannoun
-
a throwing off of sexual restraint; lewd character or behavior.
The Hays Code tried to stamp out all lust and licentiousness in American film.
-
wanton disregard or transgression of laws, rules, or moral norms.
Freedom entails responsibilities, or else it degenerates into licentiousness.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of licentiousness
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.
It denotes licentiousness and lack of control, the actions of a toddler gorging himself on chocolate until he is sick.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
And at least one regulator has taken notice of chatbot licentiousness.
From Reuters ● Mar. 18, 2023
“Radicalism flourished in Boston, Bristol, and Bengal, while fears of disorder and licentiousness provoked rural elites in both the Hudson Valley and the English shires,” du Rivage writes.
From The New Yorker ● May 8, 2017
Officials eventually charged 22 people with 35 acts of crowd licentiousness between 2007 and 2009, 18 of which Mr. Ma had organized or engaged in, they said.
From New York Times ● May 20, 2010
Let me not suppose that she dares go about, Emma Woodhouse-ing me!—But upon my honour, there seems no limits to the licentiousness of that woman’s tongue!”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
