raunchy
Americanadjective
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vulgar or smutty; crude; earthy; obscene.
a raunchy joke.
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dirty; slovenly; grubby.
adjective
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openly sexual; lusty; earthy
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slovenly or untidy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of raunchy
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; origin uncertain
Explanation
Something raunchy is dirty in one sense or another: it's either literally covered in dirt or suggesting dirty sexual situations. Raunchy started off as Army Air Corps slang for something sloppy in 1939. But by the 60's the word had grown to imply another kind of dirtiness: the vulgar, sexual kind. So these days it's safe to assume that a raunchy movie, for example, is full of foul language, obscenities, and graphic sex scenes. And in case you're wondering, an R-rated movie is much more likely to be raunchy than a G movie.
Vocabulary lists containing raunchy
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.
See Examples For:
“It’s raunchy, and hilarious without being just joke-punchline, and empowering, and you leave feeling like you got a glimpse into who she is.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
“She had just read ‘Ball Four,’” Ardell said, referencing Jim Bouton’s book about the raunchy, less-seemly side of baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2025
The film wasn’t poking fun at gay men, nor was it particularly raunchy.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2025
Since 2007, the comedian, actress and musician has performed as one half of Garfunkel and Oates, a raunchy comedy duo also starring Kate Micucci.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025
When we opened the boxes up, we found a payload of raunchy, orangey red T-shirts faded out in places and with the odd ripped seam adding character.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
The protagonists of those shows and raunchier offshoots like “Bachelor in Paradise” often found their social followings shooting up into the millions, jump-starting careers or side hustles pitching vitamin gummies or meal kits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
RuPaul's show also made drag into a family-friendly entertainment, at least when it gets stripped of some of the raunchier humor.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2022
Orr dismissed comparisons between “Ticket to Paradise” and “Bros,” pointing out that the two films — one a breezy PG-13 confection, the other a more provocative and infinitely raunchier R-rated film — are wildly different.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2022
That means it’s probably within the PG-13 guidelines, and therefore more similar to High School Musical: The Musical: The Series than Hulu’s raunchier shows based around teen characters, like PEN15.
From The Verge ● Feb. 25, 2020
If the show set up Laverne as the “tough” half of the partnership — pushy, blunt, with a raunchier sense of humor — there was always the sense that she had her reasons.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2018
New producer Jimmy Miller helps strip the band down to its rawest, raunchiest essence on songs like “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Stray Cat Blues,” and “Street Fighting Man.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
It’s a bit of a headscratcher how a bunch of descendants of Puritans in a New England state ended up putting some of the raunchiest messages on state-issued license plates.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
Easily the raunchiest Confederate relic north of the Cotton Belt is Maryland’s never-in-mode state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 2021
Plautus never got back to me with statutory citations but his characterization of my posts did inspire a piece that I had some fun with mourning the Disneyfication of the raunchiest block in America.
From Forbes ● May 30, 2012
But that's a prospect that makes entertainment executives nervous, since the market for the raunchiest and most belligerent pop culture is made up largely of teenage boys.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
