obscenity

noun

äb-ˈse-nə-tē How to pronounce obscenity (audio)
Definition of obscenitynext
1
as in vulgarity
the quality or state of being obscene the song couldn't be performed on the air due to the obscenity of the lyrics

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression uttered a loud obscenity when he dropped the hammer on his toe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obscenity Jonathan Xavier Valdez, 36, of Blue Springs, faces charges of production of child obscenity involving multiple minors, according to a news release from Dave Ketchmark, a spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 15 June 2026 People throwing cigarette butts against the house, yelling obscenities, playing derogatory music. — Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 8 June 2026 Ravishing and exhilarating, The Handmaiden is about both intimate love and crude obscenity, which Chan-wook expertly balances to complement each other well. — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026 The French had obscenity laws, too, but they were designed to be hard to enforce, and, in any case, the French didn’t care much about English-language pornography in the nineteen-twenties, since it was purchased mostly by tourists. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for obscenity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obscenity
  1. vulgarity
  2. curse
  3. grossness
  4. swear
  5. suggestiveness
  6. profanity
  7. crudeness
  8. language
Noun
  • The once-vaunted values of public life are now reduced to the lower standards of private life—venality, vulgarity, rudeness, incontinence, and ignorance.
    — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
  • Benoit delights in language as much as her heroine, weaving Regency-era slang throughout and appending a chapter-by-chapter glossary of vulgarities.
    — Angelina Mazza, Vulture, 19 June 2026
Definition of vulgarity
Noun
  • Along with the town’s hard-drinking fisherman Wyck (Root), and the town hall staff of Patricia (O’Flynn), Rosemary (Dickey) and Dale (Hiller), Loftis tries to ignore a centuries-old island curse while attracting tourists to the island.
    — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2026
  • In other cases Hoodoo was used to counter the threat of curses, as in the practice of suspending bottles from a tree to trap any malevolent spirits or witches traveling in spirit form.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of curse
Noun
  • But Paddy’s isn’t Sudz, and the Gang’s efforts to soft-pedal their antics to be more in line with those mainstream bars devolved into typical Sunny-style hostility and off-putting grossness.
    — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026
  • All your Dad has to do is fill it and drink—the microfilter membrane will do the rest by removing chlorine odors, dirt, bacteria, and any other grossness floating around in there.
    — Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
Definition of grossness
Noun
  • The pinky swear proved binding, as Nelson wrote the screenplay within six weeks.
    — William Earl, Variety, 15 July 2026
  • Why fill with swears a show that might otherwise have been appointment viewing for the whole family?
    — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026
Definition of swear
Noun
  • The bucket quickly went viral for its not-safe-for-work suggestiveness.
    — Greta Cross, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • The other funnymen of the time—Milton Berle with his lewd suggestiveness, Jackie Gleason with his baleful roar—did the same shtick over and over.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of suggestiveness
Noun
  • In another part of the video, shot from a different angle, he is seen on the other side of the truck, screaming profanities as another person, much smaller in stature, walks up with a child and is seen putting things inside the pickup truck.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Ads from candidates and outside groups can air there with profanity.
    — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of profanity
Noun
  • There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.
    — Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 4 Aug. 2025
Definition of crudeness
Noun
  • Jurin keeps working after the conversation ends—across phone, email, web chat and LINE, the messaging app used by the vast majority of Japan’s population—connecting plain language to the software that acts.
    — Jurin AI Contributor, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Born and raised in Paris’s Chinatown, Zouaghi’s fluent command of Mandarin led him to teach the Chinese language to students in New York City, and eventually London.
    — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of language

Browse Nearby Words

obscenities
obscenity
obscurant
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Cite this Entry

“Obscenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obscenity. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on obscenity

Nglish: Translation of obscenity for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about obscenity

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