prurient
Americanadjective
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having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.
-
causing lasciviousness or lust.
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having a restless desire or longing.
adjective
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unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices
-
exciting or encouraging lustfulness; erotic
Other Word Forms
- prurience noun
- pruriency noun
- pruriently adverb
Etymology
Origin of prurient
1630–40; < Latin prūrient- (stem of prūriēns ), present participle of prūrīre to itch
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.
For the most part, though, this is a thoughtful look at a controversy unlikely to fade away, so long as modern technology and prurient interests continue to exist.
From Los Angeles Times
They have taken to Reddit and Facebook to upload impassioned screenshots of their chatbots snubbing their amorous overtures and have demanded the companies bring back the more prurient versions.
From Reuters
Would that be crossing the line into “prurient interest,” or are we still just having a laugh?
From Washington Post
All the strength and brilliance of acrylic paint fades into a material with the drab associations of amateur portraits, or the prurient gaze of Edgar Degas.
From New York Times
Oatly is going public, so out of prurient interest, I picked up their registration statement.
From The Verge
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.
