prurient

[proo r-ee-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prurient ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.

causing lasciviousness or lust.

having a restless desire or longing.

Nearby words

Origin of prurient

1630–40; < Latin prūrient- (stem of prūriēns), present participle of prūrīre to itch

Related formspru·ri·ence, pru·ri·en·cy, nounpru·ri·ent·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for prurience

All weekend reporters in eastern Ukraine were walking a bizarre tightrope, of prurience, politesse, and ghoulishness.
To Truly Shame Putin, Show Us the Bodies of MH17|Tim Teeman|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The California obscenity statute defines “prurience” as “a morbid, degrading, unhealthy interest in sex.”
If Porn Isn’t Art, Does It Still Have a Right to Exist?|Michael Stabile|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The vulgar call it lust, and blush and hide their faces; in their folly is the shame, in their prurience the disgrace.
The Hero|William Somerset Maugham
The prurience and prudery which have poisoned sexual life in the past are alike rendered impossible.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 6 (of 6)|Havelock Ellis

It is refreshing to turn from cynicism and prurience, to gentle and more harmless pleasantry.
History of English Humour, Vol. 2 (of 2)|Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange
But, free of the prudery of the tabernacle and the prurience of the boulevard, surely the novel has a great future before it.
Belford's Magazine, Vol II, No. 10, March 1889|Various
That amazing mixture of sententious moralities, of prurience, and of mawkish sentiment, became the rage of the Town.
Henry Fielding: A Memoir|G. M. Godden

British Dictionary definitions for prurience

prurient

adjective

unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices

exciting or encouraging lustfulness; erotic

Derived Formsprurience, nounpruriently, adverb

Word Origin for prurient

C17: from Latin prūrīre to itch, to lust after

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 prurience

prurience

1680s, from prurient + -ence. Related: Pruriency (1660s).

prurient

adj.

1630s, "itching," later, and now exclusively, "having an itching desire" (1650s), especially "lascivious, lewd," (1746), from Latin prurientem (nominative pruriens), present participle of prurire "to itch; to long for, be wanton," perhaps related to pruna "glowing coals," from PIE root *preus- "to freeze; burn" (see freeze (v.)). Related: Pruriently.

prurient

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of prurient

Examples from the Web for prurience

prurient

adjective

Word Origin for prurient

prurience

prurient