pornographic
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of pornographic
First recorded in 1850–55; pornograph(y) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )
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.
He noted the absurdity of sweeping into the category of pornographic material many books that “are classics, modern award winners, and tested on AP exams.”
From Slate • Aug. 21, 2025
"It's not pornographic and they're not doing anything illegal, so I don't think it should have been blocked," said a male IT worker Moon Jang-won.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2024
Books that get removed from libraries are often described as inappropriate or pornographic, but in practice, many deal with themes of race or include L.G.B.T.Q. characters, according to free speech organization and library groups.
From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2023
Defending Utah’s sensitive materials law, Mason noted that the committee determined the Bible didn’t qualify as pornographic under state statute.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 7, 2023
In English literature, if we except Shakespeare's Sonnets, George Barnfield's Poems, parts of Marlowe, "Roderick Random," Churchill's Satire "The Times," homosexual passions have been rarely handled, and none of these works are pornographic.
From A Problem in Modern Ethics being an inquiry into the phenomenon of sexual inversion, addressed especially to Medical Psychologists and Jurists by Symonds, John Addington
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.
