1
as in pornographic
dealing in or with explicitly sexual material
for his comedy-club performances the stand-up comic's routines are definitely X-rated
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
the jerk should have known better than to tell an X-rated joke at a company function
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of X-rated
The content of its productions has included legitimate theater, vaudeville, burlesque, striptease, movies (many X-rated), classical music and jazz as well as occasional forays into boxing, bodybuilding and politics.
—
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
For the first seven years of the rating system (1969-1975), nearly half of the top films (33 of 70) were R- or X-rated.
—Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
What audiences see are silhouettes engaged in a shadow play of entwined hands and arched backs, sensual but not X-rated.
—Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
Granted, none of these are X-rated, but one of my concerns is that the intensity of this online relationship has grown quite exponentially in a very short time and could very well lead to actual X-rated.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
Keep the red boost light on with your right foot and the Riviera will eventually peak out at 105 mph, although the speedometer is X-rated above 85.
—Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
For the first seven years of the rating system (1969-1975), nearly half of the top films (33 of 70) were R- or X-rated.
—Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
What audiences see are silhouettes engaged in a shadow play of entwined hands and arched backs, sensual but not X-rated.
—Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
Granted, none of these are X-rated, but one of my concerns is that the intensity of this online relationship has grown quite exponentially in a very short time and could very well lead to actual X-rated.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
Keep the red boost light on with your right foot and the Riviera will eventually peak out at 105 mph, although the speedometer is X-rated above 85.
—Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for X-rated
Adjective
-
The waste feels more flagrant with every pornographic shot of a Chanel bag, vintage car or over-the-top ensemble.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Opponents of the books describe them as pornographic.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Banners containing commercial, political or obscene material, or that block guest views.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Just another week in the world of Ball, who was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Monday for making an obscene gesture in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ 144-117 loss to Miami.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Corrigan has also appeared in independent non-adult films such as Chillerama and appeared in Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk biopic Milk.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
29 Oct. 2025
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The junior car had gotten seriously adult.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Who decides what’s decorous and what’s vulgar?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Though she was lambasted at the time, the erotic drama has enjoyed a critical reappraisal in recent years, with fans celebrating Berkley's kinetic turn.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
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Further titles on its slate include erotic thriller Blurred, starring Alex Pettyfer and Guy Pearce; YA adventure The Queen’s Jewels, starring Carson Rowland, Katherine McNamara and Michael Evans Behling; and Bulgarian horror Samodiva, featuring Jack Parr, Sophie Craig and Richard Brake.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“X-rated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/X-rated. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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