as in vulgarity
the quality or state of being obscene
the bawdiness of the song makes it inappropriate for children
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
a bawdy comment about someone you work with could get you fired
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in suggestive
hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent
a bawdy limerick that mischievous storytellers love to recite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawdiness
Eric Olson
september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 12 Dec. 2025
Hell’s Half-acre, the bawdy section of town, was thriving, the Texas Brewery opened in 1891, and Byer’s Opera House had brought burlesque to Cowtown.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bawdiness
Noun
Despite the heavy central theme of chronic illness, there’s a delicious bawdiness to Will There Ever Be Another You, a vulgar juvenilia evoking graffiti-tag genitals or the ding dong ditch scene from Billy Madison.
—Eric Olson
september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
That’s because the musical path D’Angelo was headed on was light-years away from bawdy lover-boy balladry.
—Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 12 Dec. 2025
Hell’s Half-acre, the bawdy section of town, was thriving, the Texas Brewery opened in 1891, and Byer’s Opera House had brought burlesque to Cowtown.
—Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bawdiness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawdiness
Noun
-
On Monday night, that park seemed so far away as Knicks fans rained vulgarities down on Wembanyama and his teammates inside Madison Square Garden.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
-
As the subtitle promises, their answers are shared with all the vulgarity, pettiness, and arrogance intact.—
Juliet Izon,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
All your Dad has to do is fill it and drink—the microfilter membrane will do the rest by removing chlorine odors, dirt, bacteria, and any other grossness floating around in there.—
Francesca Krempa,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
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There are no great surprises from here on out, though the sheer, lusty grossness of the fallout is occasionally startling.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The other funnymen of the time—Milton Berle with his lewd suggestiveness, Jackie Gleason with his baleful roar—did the same shtick over and over.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Over-Nite Sensation is a triumph: a concentrated digest from perhaps the most popular stretch of his career, and a freeze-frame of his compositional flowering and ingenious lyrical ribaldry.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
The Atlantic,
27 Nov. 2023
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Finding liberty in punk artistry, Dury updated the tradition of British music-hall ribaldry and rude folk humor.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Aug. 2022
Noun
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Ravishing and exhilarating, The Handmaiden is about both intimate love and crude obscenity, which Chan-wook expertly balances to complement each other well.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
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Politically, while there may have been the Ginsberg who was the heroic advocate for free expression in a 1956 California State Superior Court obscenity trial concerning Howl, there was also the Ginsberg who was a defender of NAMBLA in the 1980s (on first amendment grounds, but still).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
But many seemingly urbane texts also benefited from the intellectual and moral coarseness of their times.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The term plant texture refers to the fineness or coarseness, roughness or smoothness, heaviness or lightness of a particular plant.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This is a distinct category from the Mile-High Clubbers, whose lewdness is much more inappropriate.—
Christopher Elliott,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Jan. 2026
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Claud has two convictions for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age and one conviction for open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
16 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawdiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawdiness. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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