obscene

[uh b-seen]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR obscene ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

offensive to morality or decency; indecent; depraved: obscene language.

causing uncontrolled sexual desire.

abominable; disgusting; repulsive.

Origin of obscene

First recorded in 1585–95, obscene is from the Latin word obscēnus, obscaenus

Related formsob·scene·ly, adverbob·scene·ness, nounun·ob·scene, adjectiveun·ob·scene·ly, adverbun·ob·scene·ness, noun

Can be confusedlewd obscene pornographic profanatory profane

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

Related Words for obscene

improper, pornographic, profane, disgusting, repugnant, outrageous, suggestive, nasty, coarse, horrible, crude, scatological, shocking, lewd, bawdy, salacious, X-rated, atrocious, barnyard, blue

Examples from the Web for obscene

Contemporary Examples of obscene

In June, the executive offices of the Metropolitan Opera were broken into and graffitied with obscene messages.
Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year
Shawn E. Milnes
November 23, 2014
People who are constantly suppressing the urge to make the most obscene, offensive jokes that spring to mind.
The Case Against Cards Against Humanity: Is Max Temkin a Horrible Person? (Does It Matter?)
Arthur Chu
July 29, 2014
Anything involving that obscene level of cash will definitely have juicy stories behind it.
Speed Read: Kenneth Vogel’s ‘Big Money’ Shows How PACs Control Politics
William O’Connor
June 9, 2014
A monumental political bombshell, his obscene downfall was a cinematic gimme, sure to set screenwriter hearts aflutter.
French Political Sex Movie About DSK Sets Cannes Aquiver
Tracy McNicoll
May 17, 2014
To Helms, LGBT Americans were “weak, morally sick wretches,” and AIDS education was “obscene” and “revolting.”
Ties to Secessionist Sympathizers? Don't Worry, Rand Paul Will Still Endorse You
Jamelle Bouie
December 17, 2013

Historical Examples of obscene

And a third showed the horn of an ox, with an obscene inscription.
Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete
Madame Campan
He growled an obscene oath as he heaved the great oar forward.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
Hargus repeated the prisoner's request with obscene embellishment.
The Duke Of Chimney Butte
G. W. Ogden
Between them they dragged into the light the obscene burden.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
Various
But Tonet made an obscene gesture, and started to put the jacket on.
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)
Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for obscene

obscene

adjective

offensive or outrageous to accepted standards of decency or modesty

law (of publications) having a tendency to deprave or corrupt

disgusting; repellentan obscene massacre

Derived Formsobscenely, adverb

Word Origin for obscene

C16: from Latin obscēnus inauspicious, perhaps related to caenum filth

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 obscene

adj.

1590s, "offensive to the senses, or to taste and refinement," from Middle French obscène (16c.), from Latin obscenus "offensive," especially to modesty, originally "boding ill, inauspicious," of unknown origin; perhaps from ob "onto" (see ob-) + caenum "filth." Meaning "offensive to modesty or decency" is attested from 1590s. Legally, in U.S., it hinged on "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest." [Justice William Brennan, "Roth v. United States," June 24, 1957]; refined in 1973 by "Miller v. California":

The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether 'the average person, applying contemporary community standards' would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Related: Obscenely.