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.

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

Related Words for prurience

eroticism, hunger, lechery, lust, yearning, infatuation, rapture, eagerness, liking, appetite, craze, hankering, attraction, solicitude, thirst, relish, propensity, lustfulness, fervor, ardor

Examples from the Web for prurience

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of prurience

It is the curiosity and enthusiasm of youth rather than the prurience of age.
Aliens
William McFee
There is something unpleasant, painful, degrading in this ingenious mingling of prurience and prudery.
Impressions And Comments
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
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

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

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.