obscene

adjective obscener · more obscene · obscenest · most obscene · obscæne

1. Offensive to standards of decency or morality. [...] I did incounter that obſeene and moſt prepoſterous euent that draweth frõ my ſnowhite pen the ebon coloured Incke, which here thou vieweſt, beholdeſt, ſuruayeſt, or ſeeſt. [...] There did I ſee that low ſpirited Swaine, [...] hight Coſtard, (Clow[ne]. O mee) ſorted and conſorted contrary to th

   Opposite: decent, moral, nonobscene

2. Lewd or lustful. Playes are the nurseries of vice, the bawd, / That thorow the senses steales our hearts abroad, / Tainting our eares with obscæne bawdery, / Lascivious words, and wanton ribaulry.

   Similar: abandoned, common, easy, fast, lascivious, lewd, liberal, libidinous, licentious, loose, lustful, lusty · Opposite: chaste, nonobscene, pure

3. Disgusting or repulsive. Scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror. As they sat grouped about their spoil, in the scanty light afforded by the old man's lamp, he viewed them with a detestation and disgust, which could hardly have been greater, though they had been obscene demons, marketing the corpse itself.

   Similar: abhorrant, abhorrent, bad, sickly, mean, infernal, bum, horrid, vile, demonic, disagreeable, disgusting · Opposite: nonobscene

4. broadly Beyond all reason; excessive. Yossarian went along in Milo Minderbinder's speeding M & M staff car to police headquarters to meet a swarthy, untidy police commissioner with a narrow black mustache and unbuttoned tunic who was fiddling with a stout woman with warts and two chins when they entered his office and who greeted Milo w

   Similar: devilish, excessive, horrendous, de trop, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, intemperate, lavish, nimious, obscene, overmuch · Opposite: measured, mellow, middle of the road, mild, moderate, nonexcessive, nonextreme, nonfanatic, proper, reasonable, reasonous, sober

5. UK Liable to corrupt or deprave. For the purposes of this Act an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant cir

   Similar: corruptive, perversive · Opposite: decent, nonobscene

Similar: adult, bawdy, blue, cheeky, dirty, indecent, filthy, gross, harlot, impure, ithyphallic, lewd, licentious, mucky, naughty, near the knuckle, obscene, off-colour, racy, raunchy, ribald, ribaudred, ribaudrous, risqué, rorty, salacious, saucy, shocking, sluttish, slutlike · Opposite: chaste, decent, moral

verb obscenes · obscening · obscened

1. ambitransitive, rare To act or speak in an obscene manner; to offend. They passed the little stenchy cubicles shared by two families to a floor, and the graffiti gratuitously graven onto the walls, obscening the world and telling it, them, those, the fuzz, and everyone to go and . . .