Entry Word: obscenity

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 the quality or state of being obscene <the issue of whether obscenity is a fundamental part of rap music>

Synonyms bawdiness, coarseness, crudeness, dirt, dirtiness, filth, filthiness, foulness, grossness, indecency, lasciviousness, lewdness, nastiness, ribaldry, smuttiness, vulgarity

Related Words raciness, saltiness, suggestiveness; perversion, profanity; naughtiness, wickedness; loathsomeness, offensiveness, repulsiveness; distastefulness, obnoxiousness, unpleasantness

Near Antonyms priggishness, primness, prudery, prudishness, puritanism; correctness, decency, decorousness, decorum, seemliness; appropriateness, fitness, suitability, suitableness; immaculateness, perfection, purity, spotlessness

2 a disrespectful or indecent word or expression <Dad uttered a loud obscenity when he dropped the hammer on his toe> — see swearword