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
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawdy
Australian playwright Tony McNamara has turned his side hustle as a screenwriter into a blessing for Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, The Favourite), and viewers of The Great, his bawdy historical farce for Hulu, can attest to his love of layered, lacerating insults.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
American Pie is both funnier and bawdier than Porky's, though that 1981 romp gets points for Kim Cattrall's outrageous orgasm scene.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Nettie Jones’ Fish Tales, recently reissued from FSG, is riotous, bawdy, horny, alarming, funny, gross, and frank.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Raitt has a mischievous, bawdy sense of humor.
—Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bawdy
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
American Pie is both funnier and bawdier than Porky's, though that 1981 romp gets points for Kim Cattrall's outrageous orgasm scene.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Nettie Jones’ Fish Tales, recently reissued from FSG, is riotous, bawdy, horny, alarming, funny, gross, and frank.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Raitt has a mischievous, bawdy sense of humor.
—Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bawdy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawdy
Adjective
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And for a while, Chase was like spending kind of obscene amounts of money like recycling the metal and the thing.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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An investigation by the Bakersfield Police Department also led to separate charges citing Mays for possession of more than 600 images of youth or child pornography and distribution of obscene matter involving someone younger than 18.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Wasserman rode on Epstein’s plane and exchanged suggestive messages with Maxwell, the files the DOJ released show.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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More disturbingly, some MAGA cultural warriors claimed to be disgusted by Bad Bunny’s suggestive dancing and called for his censorship, harking back to the 1950s, when emerging superstar Elvis Presley was shot by TV cameras from the waist up during his appearance at the Ed Sullivan show.—
Ediberto Roman,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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On Heavenly’s last record, released in 1996, their daydreamy idealism had become more vulgar and concrete, and the instrumental backing had adopted a Britpop punchiness to match; however, the album was released just after drummer Mathew Fletcher’s death, leading to Heavenly’s abrupt dissolution.—
Jude Noel,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
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In 2024, another former WISN-AM radio host, Jay Weber, was suspended for two weeks after posting vulgar comments about Walz's then-17-year-old neurodivergent son, Gus.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Her trick is to finely chop the ginger, instead of grating it, so there are spicy-sweet nubs in each bite.—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Mar. 2026
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Odd pieces that are too small or irregularly shaped to cut into sashimi can be easily minced for spicy poke.—
Stella Fong,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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According to the criminal complaint, the victims told police that Meyers asked them to send nude photos or make pornographic videos.—
Ross Guidotti,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
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The employees also sent pornographic magazines with the husband’s name on them to a neighbor’s home and planned to break into the couple’s garage to install a GPS device on their car.—
Leah Willingham,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Some thought that Kubrick’s adaptation of Thackeray should have been more like Tony Richardson’s Best Picture–winning 1963 Henry Fielding adaptation Tom Jones — earthy, ribald, comic.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
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Over the years, the notoriously ribald Stern has interviewed hundreds of actors, comedians, music artists, athletes, politicians and more on his show.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Vonn’s hugely successful World Cup season at age 41 was ended by a nasty crash one month ago at the Milan Cortina Olympics that wrecked her left leg.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
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In the first inning of the club’s matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon, Sal Frelick waved haplessly at a nasty changeup from Edward Cabrera for his first strikeout of the day.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Hurley argued the lack of a foul call and was whistled for two technical fouls before heading to the locker room while shaking his head.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 2026
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Lee forces a foul call after a drive to the rim.—
American-Statesman staff,
Austin American Statesman,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bawdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawdy. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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