pornography

[pawr-nog-ruh-fee]

noun

1. sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal.

pornography

/ pɔːˈnɒɡrəfɪ, ˌpɔːnəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1. writings, pictures, films, etc, designed to stimulate sexual excitement

2. the production of such material

pornography

1. Books, photographs, magazines, art, or music designed to excite sexual impulses and considered by public authorities or public opinion as in violation of accepted standards of sexual morality. American courts have not yet settled on a satisfactory definition of what constitutes pornographic material. (See obscenity.)

Other Word Forms

• pornographer noun
• pornographic adjective
• pornographically adverb
• antipornographic adjective
• antipornography noun
• nonpornographic adjective
• unpornographic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pornography¹

1840–50; < Greek pornográph ( os ) writing about harlots ( porno-, combining form of pórnē harlot + -graphos -graph ) + -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of pornography¹

C19: from Greek pornographos writing of harlots, from pornē a harlot + graphein to write

Example Sentences

Detectives also found indecent images on his mobile phone, for which he was found guilty at a previous hearing for possession of indecent images, extreme pornography and prohibited images.

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Platforms now have to use "highly effective age assurance" to stop children from seeing pornography.

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The man who was photographed as a baby on the cover of Nirvana's classic album Nevermind has failed in his attempts to sue the band for distributing child pornography.

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Among these are requirements for sites allowing pornography or content promoting suicide and self-harm to use technology to check whether visitors are over 18.

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A HGV driver who killed a father-of-two while "heavily distracted" by pornography on his phone has been jailed for 10 years.

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Related Words

• smut