risqué
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of risqué
1865–70; < French, past participle of risquer to risk
Explanation
Something risqué hints at sex or sexual content. risqué material isn't in your face or extreme — it's just a little naughty. When it comes to sexual material, porn features sex and hardly anything else. On the other end of the spectrum are movies, songs, and books that are simply risqué: these things just have a little sexual content. They might just mention sexual situations or sort of tease the viewer, but not show much. Things that are risqué are also called "spicy" or "racy."
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.
Islanders had to follow a dress code, and risqué challenges were off the table, said ITV America Chief Executive David George.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
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
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
Top Gear achieved a certain alchemy thanks to the personalities who fronted it - and the fact it was broadcast by the BBC made their risqué approach more thrilling.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2023
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
