adjective
-
roughened because of small projections; scaly
-
indelicate, indecent, or salacious
scabrous humour
-
difficult to deal with; knotty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scabrous
1575–85; < Latin scab ( e ) r rough + -ous
Explanation
The word scabrous can describe anything that's bumpy and coarse, like your pet iguana or the rough stucco walls in your parents' house. The adjective scabrous is also used to describe things that are considered lewd or obscene, like a scabrous newspaper cartoon that manages to offend everyone who sees it. The Latin root, scaber, means "rough and scaly," and is closely related to scabere, "to scrape."
Vocabulary lists containing scabrous
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
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Fablehaven
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Dune
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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.
Certain episodes are overlong and overdone, stuffed with one scabrous exploit after another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The self-titled debut that emerged in 1999 raised the bar for scabrous yet song-driven riffing, at a time when nü-metal fought teen pop atop the charts and on MTV’s “Total Request Live.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
The theater lost the case, and both “Saved” and Bond’s next play, “Early Morning,” a scabrous satire on British royalty, were banned in Britain.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
His songs blended the scabrous and the sentimental, ranging from carousing anthems to snapshots of life in the gutter to unexpectedly tender love songs.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
Native speakers may not fully know this, but English is a scabrous mouthful.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
