pornographic
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of pornographic
First recorded in 1850–55; pornograph(y) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an interview with Sight and Sound magazine initially published in 1995, Russell explained that he knew he “wasn’t making a pornographic film.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
Bali - which is predominantly Hindu and visited by millions of tourists every year - is part of Muslim-majority Indonesia, which strictly forbids the production of pornographic material.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Books that get removed from libraries are often described as inappropriate or pornographic, but in practice, many deal with themes of race or include L.G.B.T.Q. characters, according to free speech organization and library groups.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Carrasquilla stepped down as principal of Tallahassee Classical school in the Florida city last month after one parent claimed the towering sculpture was pornographic.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
In English literature, if we except Shakespeare's Sonnets, George Barnfield's Poems, parts of Marlowe, "Roderick Random," Churchill's Satire "The Times," homosexual passions have been rarely handled, and none of these works are pornographic.
From A Problem in Modern Ethics being an inquiry into the phenomenon of sexual inversion, addressed especially to Medical Psychologists and Jurists by John Addington Symonds
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