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

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

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

The Moscow Golovinsky court found him guilty of taking part in "extremist activity" as well as using underage people for pornography, the independent Mediazona website reported from inside the court.

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Sixty-seven percent of female full-time personnel had encountered some kind of sexualised behaviour in the last year – such as inappropriate jokes, pornography, or comments about their appearance.

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The government said its proposed changes to the law would also equip AI developers and charities to make sure AI models have adequate safeguards around extreme pornography and non-consensual intimate images.

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Platforms not specialising in pornography - such as X, Discord and Telegram - are also introducing verification.

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A school bus driver convicted of watching pornography on his phone while picking up and dropping off pupils has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work.

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Related Words

• smut