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

Aubrey Beardsley cribbed the oversized phalluses of his erotic drawings from Japanese shunga prints. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 15 July 2025

Her complicated desire for K—erotic in nature, and yet based in a childlike longing for approval—produces an irrecuperable psychic fissure. —Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 15 July 2025

In 1976 Gainsbourg directed Birkin in an erotic film of the same name. —Mike Hanlon july 14, New Atlas, 14 July 2025

The late-night cable explosion was the democratization of Lyne’s erotic aesthetic — cheaper, sleazier, yet no less indebted to his lens. —arkansasonline.com, 10 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