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
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
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Faced with that reality, our inability to relate to one another becomes almost obscene.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 May 2026
-
For instance, the ruling recognized that the government’s need to protect national security might require it to prevent publication of the number and location of troops and that the primary requirements of decency might require censorship of obscene publications.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But, in historic gold-rush regions, prospectors use it to identify disturbances in the landscape that are suggestive of former mining operations, in the hope of finding overlooked stores.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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For another example of the interpretive and suggestive quality of verbs, let’s look at Patricia Highsmith’s The Two Faces of January.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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But demeaning our brand through association with vulgar demagogues is a losing strategy.—
Alma Hernandez,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
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The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The company makes pickles in flavors such as hot, half-sour and sweet and spicy.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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It’s finished in a spicy-sweet sauce that would make a rubber tire taste good.—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The illicit chatbots allegedly produced pornographic images.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Pamela Martin, 44, and her boyfriend Christopher O’Kane, 41, both pleaded guilty in March to three counts of making an indecent image of a child, two counts of distributing an indecent image of a child, possession of an extreme pornographic image and publishing an obscene article.—
Christine Pelisek,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 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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In the last two weeks, five friends have come down with either a pesty cold or nasty flu bug.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
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Otherwise, you people might be tempted to dash off a bunch of nasty remarks in the comments section.—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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To me, a foul is a foul, period!—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
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Not to mention that the foul odors that come with stagnant water can be embarrassing when guests visit.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bawdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawdy. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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