Synonyms of licentious

licentious

adjective

lī-ˈsen(t)-shəs 

as in passionate

having a strong sexual desire

a moralist who decried what she regarded as the licentious and corrupt culture of the entertainment industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

• passionate
• hot
• lascivious
• lustful
• salacious
• lecherous
• aroused
• immoral
• libidinous
• lewd
• corrupt
• randy
• horny
• excited
• oversexed
• itchy
• wanton
• satyric
• lubricious
• hypersexual
• concupiscent
• goatish
• promiscuous
• dissolute
• degraded
• libertine
• easy
• debauched
• depraved
• indecent
• loose
• degenerate
• debased
• fast
• decadent
• dissipated
• demoralized

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• virtuous
• moral
• frigid
• pure
• chaste
• modest
• decent
• celibate
• immaculate
• monastic
• monkish
• virginal
• undersexed
• innocent
• maidenly
• puritanical
• Victorian
• prudish
• priggish
• prim
• lily-white
• straitlaced

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of licentious

Wilkes was a member of the supposedly licentious Hellfire Club, one of those groups (think of Led Zeppelin in our time) known for satanic pursuits that probably were mostly drunken stunts. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

While Black writers and artists looked to Harlem as a source of optimism and inspiration, whites saw Harlem and other centers of urban Black life as alluring quarters for their more licentious desires. — Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

His strained, sandpaper-coarse timbre served as an ideal conduit for songs concerned with boisterous revelries, shady agreements, licentious intentions and musical pleasures. — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025

The mansion has been renovated before, and previous mayor Dave Bing, when newly elected, was transparent about the amount used on upgrades, ending the shroud of licentious rumors regarding the mansion since 2010. — Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 22 May 2025

Whereas The Swimming-Pool Library transpires over one London summer — the last licentious gasp before AIDS— and The Line of Beauty spans the Thatcher era, Hollinghurst has lately been expanding his temporal horizons. — Sam Worley, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2024

Ahmed is referring to the era in Tangier's history, beginning in the interwar period and peaking in the 1950s, when the city served as a licentious playground for a motley assortment of artists, socialites, and hedonists. — Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023