salacious
[suh-ley-shuh s]
- lustful or lecherous.
- (of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.
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Origin of salacious
Synonyms
See more synonyms for salacious on Thesaurus.com1. lewd, wanton, lascivious, libidinous. 2. pornographic.
Antonyms
1. modest.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for salacious
Contemporary Examples
The dirty details can be multiplied almost indefinitely, and Lee lingers over every salacious story.
I mean, calling it that is probably why people are expecting it to be salacious and along the lines of what the book was.
'Saved by the Bell' Star Dustin Diamond Doesn't Want to Be a Jerk AnymoreKevin Fallon
August 11, 2014
But can this portrait of a city be raw and honest, as well as salacious and sexy?
The allegations are broad, salacious, and, at times, just plain gross.
Are we in for another overhyped, overdramatized extravaganza that does little more than feed our appetite for salacious fare?
Historical Examples
Similarly, the word "salacious," or lustful, had this origin.
The Covenant of SaltHenry Clay Trumbull
"It takes a nasty, salacious mind to make that kind of separation," I said.
Do Unto OthersMark Clifton
He had looked at life with the salacious eyes of a Peeping Tom.
The Sins of the ChildrenCosmo Hamilton
"The citizen of Chartres is money-getting, apathetic, and salacious," replied the Abbé Plomb.
The CathedralJoris-Karl Huysmans
Is there one who prefers my writings to those of the salacious warbler, the wanton lacivious little Moore?
salacious
- having an excessive interest in sex
- (of books, magazines, etc) erotic, bawdy, or lewd
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin salax fond of leaping, from salīre to leap
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for salacious
adj.
1660s, from Latin salax (genitive salacis) "lustful," probably originally "fond of leaping," as in a male animal leaping on a female in sexual advances, from salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Earliest form of the word in English is salacity (c.1600). Related: Salaciously; salaciousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper