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Synonyms

salacious

American  
[suh-ley-shuhs] / səˈleɪ ʃəs /

adjective

  1. lustful or lecherous.

    Synonyms:
    libidinous, lascivious, wanton, lewd
    Antonyms:
    modest

  2. (of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.

    Synonyms:
    pornographic
salacious British  
/ səˈlæsɪtɪ, səˈleɪʃəs /

adjective

  1. having an excessive interest in sex

  2. (of books, magazines, etc) erotic, bawdy, or lewd

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • salaciously adverb
  • salaciousness noun
  • salacity noun
  • unsalacious adjective
  • unsalaciously adverb
  • unsalaciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of salacious

1635–45; < Latin salāci- (stem of salāx ) lustful (derivative of salīre to jump, move spasmodically, spurt; salient, saltation ) + -ous

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.

Cipriani has fictionalized the two men’s dealings, then spread “false and salacious lies to extract a massive payday.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

A lawyer for Oren said the lawsuit was salacious and demonstrably false.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

The first reports of the crime were mostly objective — one newspaper described Short as a “beauteous 22-year-old” — but these soon devolved into salacious gutter journalism.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

Fire and Fury, the first of several books spanning Trump's first stint as US president, came out in 2018, with descriptions of a dysfunctional White House and salacious details about the US commander-in-chief.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

It needs to be said too what salacious nonsense it is to claim that Lord Darlington was anti-Semitic, or that he had close association with organizations like the British Union of Fascists.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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.