prurient

[ proor-ee-uhnt ]

See synonyms for: prurient prurience pruriency 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.

Origin of prurient

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

Other words from prurient

pru·ri·ence, pru·ri·en·cy, noun
pru·ri·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use prurient in a sentence

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 | THE DAILY BEAST
Stern, however, eschewed innuendo for straightforward prurience.
‘The Tonight Show’ Fight: Howard Stern vs. Jay Leno | The Daily Beast Video | March 20, 2013 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
Somehow, the Virginia bill became a symbol of right-wing prurience, invasiveness, and insensitivity.
As Virginia Ultrasound Rule Fails, Is GOP Seeing Reproductive-Rights Backlash? | Michelle Goldberg | February 24, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Both books put graphic writing about sex in the service of something besides mere prurience.
Hot, Bothered, and Bored | Malcolm Jones | August 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

There is something unpleasant, painful, degrading in this ingenious mingling of prurience and prudery.
Impressions And Comments | Havelock Ellis
There was no angry prurience for fame or gold underlying such complaints.
William Blake | Algernon Charles Swinburne
Burton argues that the "naive indecencies of the text of The Arabian Nights are rather gaudisserie than prurience."
The Life of Sir Richard Burton | Thomas Wright
He never spoke on this subject with the slobbery grin of the voluptuary, or the leer of prurience.
Flowers of Freethought | George W. Foote
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 prurient

prurient

/ (ˈprʊərɪənt) /

adjective

unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices
exciting or encouraging lustfulness; erotic

Origin of prurient

C17: from Latin prūrīre to itch, to lust after

Derived forms of prurient

prurience, noun
pruriently, adverb

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

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