pornography

American  

[pawr-nog-ruh-fee] / pɔrˈnɒg rə fi /

noun

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

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pornography British  

/ pɔːˈnɒɡrəfɪ, ˌpɔːnəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

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

2. the production of such material

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pornography Cultural  

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.)

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of pornography

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

Example Sentences

Lula fought back on that front too, justifying the rulings by arguing that "Brazilian society rejects hateful content, racism, child pornography, scams, fraud, and speeches against human rights and democratic freedom".

From BBC

McQuaide rose during Mass at an Ohio Catholic church and snapped at Jason Williams, chancellor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese, demanding answers about rumors that two priests had viewed pornography on a parish computer.

From Los Angeles Times

The government pointed to measures including the Online Safety Act, which says social media companies will have to protect children from harmful material including pornography, material promoting self-harm, bullying and content encouraging dangerous stunts.

From BBC

Although YouTube has community standards forbidding “pornography, incitement to violence, harassment, or hate speech,” calling those open to interpretation in our retrograde cultural atmosphere is putting it mildly.

From Salon

The head of the commission, appointed by Yoon, has expanded its remit from illegal online content like gambling or pornography to the murkier realm of “fake news.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• smut