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

During The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actress roundtable in 2019, the actress revealed she was offered the role of Anastasia Steele in the erotic thriller adaptation, but declined it due to the excessive nude scenes. —Diana Pearl, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025

Doubles, glitches, erotic dread, narrative dead-ends. —Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025

The tension created by their first encounter ended up proving beneficial to their casting in the erotic thriller, which stars Douglas as a detective investigating the murder of a rock star and Stone as a seductive writer who is the prime suspect. —Zack Sharf, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025

Reel Suspects has acquired sales rights to Alex Phillips’ erotic thriller Anything That Moves, which premiered last week to rave reviews from the genre fans at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 July 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