as in passionate
having a strong sexual desire
a moralist who decried what she regarded as the licentious and corrupt culture of the entertainment industry
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Recent Examples of licentious
Having spent most of her adult life trapped in a gilded cage, Sophie finds her desires awakened by Margo, a gubernatorial candidate’s wife whose licentious private life contradicts her conservative public persona.
—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
Wilkes was a member of the supposedly licentious Hellfire Club, one of those groups (think of Led Zeppelin in our time) known for satanic pursuits that probably were mostly drunken stunts.
—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
While Black writers and artists looked to Harlem as a source of optimism and inspiration, whites saw Harlem and other centers of urban Black life as alluring quarters for their more licentious desires.
—
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
She’s preoccupied though, training a gun on the facility’s head officer, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), whose RFK Jr. rasp and licentious focus on Perfidia sets him up as a comedic draw and a convincing picture of America’s sanctioned white violence.
—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
His strained, sandpaper-coarse timbre served as an ideal conduit for songs concerned with boisterous revelries, shady agreements, licentious intentions and musical pleasures.
—
Bob Gendron,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
The mansion has been renovated before, and previous mayor Dave Bing, when newly elected, was transparent about the amount used on upgrades, ending the shroud of licentious rumors regarding the mansion since 2010.
—
Leah Olajide,
Freep.com,
22 May 2025
Ahmed is referring to the era in Tangier's history, beginning in the interwar period and peaking in the 1950s, when the city served as a licentious playground for a motley assortment of artists, socialites, and hedonists.
—
Stephanie Rafanelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Aug. 2023
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
Wilkes was a member of the supposedly licentious Hellfire Club, one of those groups (think of Led Zeppelin in our time) known for satanic pursuits that probably were mostly drunken stunts.
—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
While Black writers and artists looked to Harlem as a source of optimism and inspiration, whites saw Harlem and other centers of urban Black life as alluring quarters for their more licentious desires.
—
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
She’s preoccupied though, training a gun on the facility’s head officer, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), whose RFK Jr. rasp and licentious focus on Perfidia sets him up as a comedic draw and a convincing picture of America’s sanctioned white violence.
—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
His strained, sandpaper-coarse timbre served as an ideal conduit for songs concerned with boisterous revelries, shady agreements, licentious intentions and musical pleasures.
—
Bob Gendron,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
The mansion has been renovated before, and previous mayor Dave Bing, when newly elected, was transparent about the amount used on upgrades, ending the shroud of licentious rumors regarding the mansion since 2010.
—
Leah Olajide,
Freep.com,
22 May 2025
Ahmed is referring to the era in Tangier's history, beginning in the interwar period and peaking in the 1950s, when the city served as a licentious playground for a motley assortment of artists, socialites, and hedonists.
—
Stephanie Rafanelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for licentious
Adjective
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It was captured as monarch and his eldest son visited the Natural History Museum in London to kick off the countdown to COP30, the annual United Nations climate change summit to be held the following month in Brazil, as both are passionate advocates for the environment.
-
Alejandra Gomez, the executive director of the non-profit LUCHA, says that the moratorium emerged from the passionate advocacy of many Arizonans—and in the face of fierce counter-lobbying from the data center industry led by former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
Adjective
-
That’s why everything looks different in a cold pool versus a hot shower.
-
Either way, El Niño is likely to remain a hot topic throughout 2026.
Adjective
-
Some artists have eras, experimental phases, detours, creative dalliances; Arthur Russell’s career, for all its seeming contradictions—classical minimalism and lascivious disco, Zen Buddhist mantras and winsome country pop—was a continuum.
-
On Thursday, Riemer pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition.
Adjective
-
But in this one, the women are transgressive and lustful and violent and ridiculous and funny.
-
From dazzling smiles and lustful dates to shocking eliminations and lifelong friendships, Love Island USA is back.
Cite this Entry
“Licentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/licentious. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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