scabrous

[skab-ruhs]

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adjective

having a rough surface because of minute points or projections.
indecent or scandalous; risqué; obscene: scabrous books.
full of difficulties.

Origin of scabrous

1575–85; < Latin scab(e)r rough + -ous

Related formsscab·rous·ly, adverbscab·rous·ness, nounun·scab·rous, adjectiveun·scab·rous·ly, adverbun·scab·rous·ness, noun

Synonyms for scabrous

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2. lewd, wanton, improper.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for scabrous

blotchy, coarse, notched, scaly, encrusted, lepidote, scabby, immodest, indecent, indiscreet, licentious, obscene, scandalous, shocking, unconventional, risque, knotty, rough, rugged, treacherous

Examples from the Web for scabrous

Contemporary Examples of scabrous

From Romantic squish to scabrous satirist to rebel wrangler to, finally, Ambassador of Goodwill.
Poet and Rake, Lord Byron Was Also an Interventionist With Brains and Savvy
Michael Weiss
February 16, 2014

Historical Examples of scabrous

Despite the subject and the title, there is nothing in the least "scabrous" in it.
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2
George Saintsbury
Then we incontinently proceed to stone him to death with scabrous adjectives!
Iconoclasts
James Huneker
The spores are rounded, and rough (scabrous) on the surface.
An Elementary Text-book of the Microscope
John William Griffith
The whole relation had been ruined by entering this scabrous building.
Sinister Street, vol. 2
Compton Mackenzie
Carol glanced from the scabrous object to Vida, and realized that she was not joking.
Main Street
Sinclair Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for scabrous

scabrous

adjective

roughened because of small projections; scaly
indelicate, indecent, or salaciousscabrous humour
difficult to deal with; knotty

Derived Formsscabrously, adverbscabrousness, noun

Word Origin for scabrous

C17: from Latin scaber rough; related to scabies

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

Word Origin and History for scabrous

adj.

1570s, "harsh, unmusical" (implied in scabrously), from Late Latin scabrosus "rough," from Latin scaber "rough, scaly," related to scabere "to scratch, scrape" (see scabies). Sense in English evolved to "vulgar" (1881), "squalid" (1939), and "nasty, repulsive" (c.1951). Classical literal sense of "rough, rugged" attested in English from 1650s. Related: Scabrously; scabrousness.