1
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
bystanders were shocked by the lewd behavior of the couple in the park
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in passionate
having a strong sexual desire
a lewd 18th-century nobleman who left behind hundreds of erotic love letters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in suggestive
hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent
a nearby diner kept telling lewd jokes until we told him to shut up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lewd
The case becomes political when a lewd painting of Maria de’ Medici, the daughter of the Duke of Florence, is found in Pontormo’s room.
—
Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sometimes the subjects appear undressed or in lewd positions, with their faces and bodies hidden by black boxes, though there are occasional clips where a face is visible.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Garcia-Aquino, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was charged last year with killing 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez during the commission of a lewd act at his Lancaster home in March.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Footage showed dozens of people being arrested as agitators shouted insults at state patrol officers, tore down yellow police tape and hurled lewd objects at law enforcement.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lewd
Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Sometimes the subjects appear undressed or in lewd positions, with their faces and bodies hidden by black boxes, though there are occasional clips where a face is visible.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Garcia-Aquino, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was charged last year with killing 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez during the commission of a lewd act at his Lancaster home in March.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
Footage showed dozens of people being arrested as agitators shouted insults at state patrol officers, tore down yellow police tape and hurled lewd objects at law enforcement.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lewd
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lewd
Adjective
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Guests will enjoy the experience free from disruptive behavior, foul language, obscene gestures, fighting, unruly conduct or inconsiderate actions.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
2 Mar. 2026
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Davidson has Tourette's with Coprolalia, which involves involuntary outbursts of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks, according to the Tourette Association of America.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Companies like Acorn, which specializes in British TV, and Crunchyroll, devoted to anime, had built real businesses on niches with passionate fans.—
Lucas Shaw,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
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Was there one among you all that was kind of most passionate about getting this record done?—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
9 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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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
-
In the West, the temperatures were sometimes blazing hot.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Housed in this new 62,000 square-foot store is a full-service carnicería, a Panadería, a salsa and seviche bar, and hot food counter that will serve prepared foods like tacos, burritos and other Mexican fare.—
Cecilio Padilla,
CBS News,
4 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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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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Johnson was convicted last month of two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count of electronically transmitting material harmful to a minor, according to prosecutors in Hernando County, Florida.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Salinas was convicted in June 2007 of lewd or lascivious acts on a minor, according to the criminal complaint.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lewd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lewd. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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