aphrodisiac

adjective

variants also aphrodisiacal
Definition of aphrodisiacnext
as in erotic
of, relating to, exciting, or expressing sexual attraction or desire the tomato's supposed aphrodisiac qualities have caused it to be also known as "the love apple"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for aphrodisiac
  1. erotic
  2. sexy
Adjective
  • Their research included the study of the erotic novels penned by Spanish writer and fashion designer Álvaro Retana, who also wrote lyrics for saucy songs of the type that Cruz performs in La Bola Negra.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Raymond Horsch, who once lived in the house and died last year, was an erotic filmmaker whose work depicted violent themes, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
    — Danny Freeman, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of erotic
Adjective
  • Cocktails are served at Drink Kong, the sexy, high-concept cocktail bar—its second location in the city—adjoining the property.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The album featured the sexy, chicken-scratch funk of the 1970s melted down to something slow and gooey next to early-morning comedown music for a ’90s-style sunrise in the chill-out room.
    — Jack Denton, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of sexy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

aphoristically
aphrodisiac
apical
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aphrodisiac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aphrodisiac. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on aphrodisiac

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aphrodisiac

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All