raunchy

adjective

raun·​chy ˈrȯn-chē 

ˈrän-

raunchier; raunchiest

1

: slovenly, dirty

a raunchy panhandler

also : very smelly

raunchy sneakers

2

: obscene, smutty

raunchy jokes

raunchily

ˈrȯn-chə-lē 

ˈrän-

adverb

raunchiness

ˈrȯn-chē-nəs 

ˈrän-

noun

Synonyms

• bawdy
• blue
• coarse
• crude
• dirty
• filthy
• foul
• gross
• gutter
• impure
• indecent
• lascivious
• lewd
• locker-room
• nasty
• obscene
• pornographic
• porny
• profane
• ribald
• smutty
• stag
• trashy
• unprintable
• vulgar
• wanton
• X-rated

Examples of raunchy in a Sentence

inappropriately used office e-mail for an exchange of raunchy jokes

Recent Examples on the Web

This gem from director Gene Stupnitsky (who also directed the raunchy comedy Good Boys) follows Lawrence’s character Maddie, a struggling bartender whose financial troubles put her at risk of losing her childhood home. —Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

Produced by Bunny Lee, the single was banned by the BBC for its raunchy lyrics but hit the UK Top 10 anyway, prompting Romeo to record his debut album, A Dream, in London with backing band the Rudies. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025

These grainy, raunchy, politically minded and mind-expanding books found a worldwide audience but were slower to catch on in the United States. —Dwight Garner, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

Streep joined in on the extraterrestrial fun as Colleen Rafferty Sr., the raunchy, chain-smoking mother of McKinnon's character Colleen Rafferty, who was also taken by aliens that same evening. —EW.com, 12 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for raunchy

• bronchi
• bianchi