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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of X-rated
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
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
-
Why 'Shrinking' Is a Parents-Only Watch The themes, relationships, and conversations in this show are primarily adult in nature.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The next decades will witness, for the first time, the full impact of one-child families on adult Chinese society.—
Henry A. Kissinger,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Mar. 2012
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, the Astors, who had amassed a nearly obscene amount of real estate in New York City, became the country’s first multimillionaires by smuggling opium.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
3 July 2025
-
The use of obscene or profane language, personal attack, libel, slander, defamation, physical violence or the threat thereof, as determined by the presiding officer, shall constitute a disturbing a lawful meeting.—
Sharon Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
Studios is out with Alicia Silverstone in erotic thriller Pretty Thing as a successful executive in a torrid affair with a younger man (Karl Glusman) who becomes obsessed with her.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
3 July 2025
-
The expansion of the genre tracks the broadening acceptability of erotic inclinations that were previously pathologized (and, at times, criminalized).—
Lily Burana,
The Atlantic,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Using vulgar, profane or indecent language in a loud or boisterous manner in the presence of children.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 June 2025
-
Between 12% and 13.3% of Americans, around 10% of Brits, and 9.4% of Australians used at least one vulgar word in their data.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
15 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“X-rated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/X-rated. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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