as in vulgarity
the quality or state of being obscene
the bawdiness of the song makes it inappropriate for children
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawdiness
Eric Olson
september 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
20 Mar. 2026
In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters.
—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
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
True to the genre’s name, the blues could be bawdy, humorously describing the pleasures of the flesh, or sorrowful, conveying heart-wrenching despair.
—
René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
20 Mar. 2026
In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters.
—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bawdiness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawdiness
Noun
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The once-vaunted values of public life are now reduced to the lower standards of private life—venality, vulgarity, rudeness, incontinence, and ignorance.
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Benoit delights in language as much as her heroine, weaving Regency-era slang throughout and appending a chapter-by-chapter glossary of vulgarities.
Noun
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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.
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There are no great surprises from here on out, though the sheer, lusty grossness of the fallout is occasionally startling.
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.
Noun
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There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.
Noun
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Right next to her crowd of women's sports advocates was a mosh of pro-transgender activists wearing costumes and shouting obscenities.
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An original call for service indicated that suspects pulled up to a CBS media vehicle and began shouting racial obscenities at a CBS cameraman who is Black, a law enforcement source said.
Noun
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But many seemingly urbane texts also benefited from the intellectual and moral coarseness of their times.
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The term plant texture refers to the fineness or coarseness, roughness or smoothness, heaviness or lightness of a particular plant.
Noun
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This is a distinct category from the Mile-High Clubbers, whose lewdness is much more inappropriate.
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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.
Noun
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Marie is disciplined and principled, while her rebellious daughter prides herself on breaking the rules and reveling in lasciviousness.
Cite this Entry
“Bawdiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawdiness. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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