risqué

American  

[ri-skey, rees-key] / rɪˈskeɪ, risˈkeɪ /

adjective

1. daringly close to indelicacy or impropriety; off-color.

   a risqué story.

   Synonyms:

   ribald, indecent, gross, broad

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risqué British  

/ ˈrɪskeɪ /

adjective

1. bordering on impropriety or indecency

   a risqué joke

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Etymology

Origin of risqué

1865–70; < French, past participle of risquer to risk

Example Sentences

There are a lot fewer neon-drenched skyscrapers and risqué robots than we were promised, but a quarter of the way through the 21st century, we are indeed essentially living inside a cyberpunk dystopia.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026

Disorderly in its construction, “Tristram Shandy” is ribald and risqué in its content, yet charitable and affecting in tone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

On the 12-track album, which dropped Friday to mixed critical reception, Swift is uncharacteristically risqué and, for possibly the first time, indulges her inner theater kid without reservation.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

But it was up against other, hipper shows like The Word, and a balding, middle-aged, middle-class man being risqué suddenly seemed less cutting-edge.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

But the abbot, although generally tolerant of Mendel’s whims, had intervened: a monk coaxing mice to mate to understand heredity was a little too risqué, even for the Augustinians.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee