obscene

[ uhb-seen ]

adjective

1. offensive to morality or decency; indecent; depraved:

   obscene language.

2. causing uncontrolled sexual desire.
3. abominable; disgusting; repulsive.

obscene

/ əbˈsiːn /

adjective

1. offensive or outrageous to accepted standards of decency or modesty
2. law (of publications) having a tendency to deprave or corrupt
3. disgusting; repellent

   an obscene massacre

Derived Forms

• obˈscenely, adverb

Other Words From

• ob·scenely adverb
• ob·sceneness noun
• unob·scene adjective
• unob·scenely adverb
• unob·sceneness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obscene¹

First recorded in 1585–95, obscene is from the Latin word obscēnus, obscaenus

Word History and Origins

Origin of obscene¹

C16: from Latin obscēnus inauspicious, perhaps related to caenum filth

Example Sentences

Orme, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to publishing an obscene article by uploading one image and 26 videos of monkey torture, and to having encouraged or assisted the commission of unnecessary suffering by making a £10 payment to a PayPal account.

From BBC

Instead, the Trump-Vance administration could leverage the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-vice law that bans obscene articles being used for abortion from being mailed.

From Salon

“Absolutely obscene!” declared former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot.

From Slate

Last November, the board also approved a rule requiring school libraries to pull books if any district resident complains they are “sexually obscene.”

From Los Angeles Times

He also admitted to a count of attempting to cause a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and one of publishing an obscene article.

From BBC

Related Words

• bawdy
• coarse
• crude
• disgusting
• horrible
• improper
• lewd
• nasty
• outrageous
• pornographic
• profane
• repugnant
• salacious
• scatological
• shocking
• suggestive