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Synonyms

pornography

American  
[pawr-nog-ruh-fee] / pɔrˈnɒg rə fi /

noun

  1. sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal.

pornography British  
/ pɔːˈnɒɡrəfɪ, ˌpɔːnəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

  1. writings, pictures, films, etc, designed to stimulate sexual excitement

  2. the production of such material

"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
pornography Cultural  

  1. Books, photographs, magazines, art, or music designed to excite sexual impulses and considered by public authorities or public opinion as in violation of accepted standards of sexual morality. American courts have not yet settled on a satisfactory definition of what constitutes pornographic material. (See obscenity.)

Other Word Forms

  • antipornographic adjective
  • antipornography noun
  • nonpornographic adjective
  • pornographer noun
  • pornographic adjective
  • pornographically adverb
  • unpornographic adjective

Etymology

Origin of pornography

1840–50; < Greek pornográph ( os ) writing about harlots ( porno-, combining form of pórnē harlot + -graphos -graph ) + -y 3

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.

The Socialist leader announced a series of measures in Dubai on Tuesday to protect Spanish minors from harmful social media content such as violence and pornography.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Under the party's plan, platforms that use addictive algorithmic feeds or host "inappropriate content" would be restricted to users over 16 years old, while sites with "graphic violence or pornography" would be rated 18-plus.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, a nonprofit that has urged improved child-safety protections online and has sought to restrict access to pornography, called on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate X.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

McQuaide rose during Mass at an Ohio Catholic church and snapped at Jason Williams, chancellor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese, demanding answers about rumors that two priests had viewed pornography on a parish computer.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

He began making donations to worthy causes; he wouldn’t have sex, because he wasn’t married; he scorned profanity and pornography; and he attempted to follow the Ten Commandments in every detail.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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.