obscenity

[uh b-sen-i-tee, -see-ni-]

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noun, plural ob·scen·i·ties for 2, 3.

the character or quality of being obscene; indecency; lewdness.

something obscene, as a picture or story.

an obscene word or expression, especially when used as an invective.

Origin of obscenity

1600–10; < French obscenité < Latin obscēnitās, equivalent to obscēn(us) obscene + -itās -ity

Related formsan·ti·ob·scen·i·ty, noun, plural an·ti·ob·scen·i·ties, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for obscenity

Contemporary Examples of obscenity

Some might say there is also an obscenity to it, given the amount of poverty in the world.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty
Tim Teeman
December 10, 2014
Among these are obscenity, defamation, fighting words, express incitement to unlawful conduct, and threats.
Does Free Speech Cover Murder Fantasies? The Supreme Court’s Definition of a ‘Threat’
Geoffrey R. Stone
December 1, 2014
One trucker did shout an obscenity, and a musclebound mechanic told them to go and do something useful like study.
Mexican Protesters Look to Start a New Revolution
Jason McGahan
November 21, 2014
An Alabama obscenity law passed in 1998 made the sale of most sex toys illegal in the state.
Anti-Gun Ad Featuring Dildos Is a Huge Misfire
Keli Goff
June 30, 2014
Coined “obscenity regulations,” on face value they appear to ban material that “depicts or describes sexual misconduct.”
Censored and ‘Obscene’ in Solitary
Sarah Shourd
June 21, 2014

Historical Examples of obscenity

The second power of vulgarity is obscenity, and this vice is like the pestilence.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan
This is not a criticism of the phallus on grounds of obscenity, but on grounds of buffoonery.
Folkways
William Graham Sumner
This last degenerated into obscenity, indecency, and disorder.
Folkways
William Graham Sumner
Obscenity arose from everything before her eyes and approached her.
Germinie Lacerteux
Edmond and Jules de Goncourt
It is evident that mere nudity in painting and sculpture is not obscenity.
Buchanan's Journal of Man, January 1888
Various

British Dictionary definitions for obscenity

obscenity

noun plural -ties

the state or quality of being obscene

an obscene act, statement, word, etc

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 obscenity

1580s, "obscene quality," from French obscénité, from Latin obscenitatem (nominative obscenitas) "inauspiciousness, filthiness," from obscenus "offensive" (see obscene). Meaning "a foul or loathsome act" is 1610s. Sense of "an obscene utterance or word" is attested by 1690. Related: Obscenities.

Culture definitions for obscenity

obscenity

Behavior, appearance, or expression (such as films and books) that violate accepted standards of sexual morality. American courts have long tried to define obscenity but without much success. Some believe, for example, that any depiction of nudity is obscene; others would argue that nudity in itself is not obscene. (See four-letter words (see also four-letter words) and pornography.)