as in corruption
immoral conduct or practices harmful or offensive to society
our minister often condemns the licentiousness he sees cavalierly portrayed in today's mass media
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Recent Examples of licentiousness
This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year in our great nation and especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.
—
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once-wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year, especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once-wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year, especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for licentiousness
Noun
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Xi in recent years has supercharged an effort aimed at rooting out military corruption — since 2022, some 100 top officers have been dismissed or sidelined, a recent study estimated.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Political parties have pledged to amplify the voices of younger voters, promising to tackle corruption and improve governance.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This approach can be applied to any behavior, including crime and immorality.—
Christopher M. Filley,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Forehand, in his own words, explains to NBC News the before, during and after of the trick that could give him Olympic immorality.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC news,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Reading Nicholas Mosley’s nonfiction reveals a writer concerned with the sins of the past, with political maneuvering at the highest levels of government, and of personal and ideological betrayals.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Robert Bresson, in seeking the essence of sin and grace in the slightest gesture, largely eschewed professionals in order to distill performance to embodiment.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Is there a lesser of two evils?—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
-
His only way of finding any kind of life for himself is to embrace evil, to stop running away from it, to try to stop morally flagellating himself.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Still, a story that’s equal parts an exploration of libertinism and also a scorching take on the elite remained a tempting narrative to explore.—
Abbey White,
The Hollywood Reporter,
20 Nov. 2024
-
To some, the campus became the place where the children of American postwar affluence failed to live up to all that had been invested in them, opting instead for campus protest, radical politics, and libertinism.—
Adrian Daub / Made by History,
TIME,
3 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Licentiousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/licentiousness. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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