erotic

adjective

erot·​ic i-ˈrä-tik 

variants or less commonly erotical

i-ˈrä-ti-kəl 

1

: of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire

erotic art

2

: strongly marked or affected by sexual desire

erotic noun

erotically

i-ˈrä-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• sexy
• sensual

Examples of erotic in a Sentence

the erotic aspects of the story of Beauty and the Beast

Recent Examples on the Web

There is an erotic frisson between Jeanne and Cristina throughout the movie despite their age difference and daughter-mother-like relationship. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2025

Bleecker Street’s Fantastic Fest erotic thriller Bone Lake by Mercedes Bryce Morgan debuts on 1,045 screens. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025

The story is one of impossible love, centering on two young Chinese women, high-school best friends in Shanghai in the nineteen-twenties whose relationship has an intense erotic current continuing into adulthood. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025

Henrot transfigures her erotic source material into something else. —Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Greek erōtikos, from erōt-, erōs

First Known Use

1621, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing erotic

• anti-erotic

Rhymes for erotic

• aprotic
• aquatic
• biotic
• chaotic
• cirrhotic
• despotic
• dichotic
• euphotic
• exotic
• fibrotic
• hieratic
• hypnotic

Kids Definition

erotic

adjective

erot·​ic i-ˈrät-ik 

: of, relating to, or marked by sexual love or desire

erotically

-ˈrät-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

eroticism

-ˈrät-ə-ˌsiz-əm

noun

Medical Definition

erotic

adjective

erot·​ic i-ˈrät-ik 

variants also erotical

i-ˈrät-i-kəl 

1

: of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire

2

: strongly marked or affected by sexual desire

erotically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb