salacious
Americanadjective
-
lustful or lecherous.
- Synonyms:
- libidinous, lascivious, wanton, lewd
- Antonyms:
- modest
-
(of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.
- Synonyms:
- pornographic
adjective
-
having an excessive interest in sex
-
(of books, magazines, etc) erotic, bawdy, or lewd
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.
“The government always cherry picks what they feel are salacious little tidbits to spice up the indictment,” said his lawyer, William J. Brennan.
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
The combination of salacious scandals and heavily publicized election losses have undercut the group’s image.
From Salon
Although similar imagery would grace the covers of salacious pulp magazines after World War I, there was a difference between Picou’s era and that of the pulps.
There has always been salacious gossip about the royal family, and misbehaving royals, but this time it felt much worse.
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.
