Synonyms of obscenity

obscenity

noun

äb-ˈse-nə-tē 

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

• vulgarity
• grossness
• suggestiveness
• crudeness
• foulness
• indecency
• lewdness
• coarseness
• profanity
• filth
• ribaldry
• crudity
• dirtiness
• bawdiness
• smut
• lasciviousness
• impurity
• offensiveness
• filthiness
• abusiveness
• nastiness
• raunchiness
• raunch
• wantonness
• blueness
• distastefulness
• lowness
• dirt
• atrocity
• smuttiness
• broadness
• naughtiness
• perversity
• impureness
• indelicacy
• unacceptability
• undesirability
• perversion
• immodesty
• raciness
• wickedness
• earthiness
• unpleasantness
• depravity
• lechery
• perverseness
• saltiness
• obnoxiousness
• reprehensibility
• repugnance
• infamy
• repulsiveness
• loathsomeness
• kinkiness
• gaminess
• repellency
• unbecomingness
• indecorousness
• objectionableness
• depravedness
• pervertedness
• exceptionability
• indelicateness
• reprehensibleness
• scurrilousness
• atrociousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prudery
• puritanism
• prudishness
• priggishness
• decency
• correctness
• primness
• decorum
• appropriateness
• suitability
• seemliness
• purity
• fitness
• perfection
• priggery
• suitableness
• decorousness
• spotlessness

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

• curse
• swear
• profanity
• language
• vulgarism
• expletive
• epithet
• cuss
• dirty word
• swearword
• cussword
• scurrility
• name
• bawdry
• four-letter word
• imprecation
• malediction
• execration
• oath

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of obscenity

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

Politically, while there may have been the Ginsberg who was the heroic advocate for free expression in a 1956 California State Superior Court obscenity trial concerning Howl, there was also the Ginsberg who was a defender of NAMBLA in the 1980s (on first amendment grounds, but still). — Literary Hub, 3 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