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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bawdy
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
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
See All Example Sentences for bawdy
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
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
See All Example Sentences for bawdy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawdy
Adjective
-
Friis Bach, who was then chairman of the Folketing’s secretive Foreign Policy Committee, was asked in early January to begin considering the obscene logistics of a mass evacuation of Greenland.—
Joshua Hunt,
Vanity Fair,
17 June 2026
-
The amount of money spent on election campaigns is absolutely obscene.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
While this study found that a smaller company size was suggestive of higher returns, all things being equal, the extent of the impact was less clear.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
-
The water was like glass, its reflection of the colors and clouds suggestive of a James Turrell installation, broken only by the occasional ripple of fish chasing other fish.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
This isn’t about the vulgar prices now being charged to get into the building and Celebrity Row.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
-
But this original iteration of Call Her Daddy was vulgar, transgressive, and short-lived.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
So a delegation was despatched into a fairly spicy area of Mexico City called Tepito, famous for its markets.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Start by dumping of that new, spicy chicken sandwich and bringing back the original one - which was by far better than every other chicken sandwich, IMHO.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Gibson asked for pornographic images of the minor, and sent photos of himself, according to court documents.—
Kendrick Calfee
June 13,
Kansas City Star,
13 June 2026
-
While Washington drags its feet, kids across the nation are being exposed to vile, pornographic images and ads with no meaningful safeguards to prevent it.—
Rachel del Guidice,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Beulah picks up the story from there, spilling the colorful and ribald saga of how her family — originally named Sullivan, from Ireland — migrated west and got caught in the middle of the Texas revolution.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
-
In contrast to this ribald directness, Kokopeli’s playsets feature characters who appear detached and disconnected.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Those early 2010s Blackhawks teams were nasty, and they were all led by Toews.—
Matt Reigle,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2026
-
Lindy Ruff’s system was a tough fit, and a nasty ankle injury derailed his initial momentum in upstate New York.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Aranda slapped an outside changeup on a line down the leftfield line, and the ball struck the screen on the fair side of foul pole for a three-run homer.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 June 2026
-
Almiron and Mulder exchanged words following a foul near midfield.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bawdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawdy. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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