as in vice
the practice of engaging in sexual activities for money
prostitution is illegal in most states
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prostitution
The district attorney in Johnson County and Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating allegations against Cantrell involving a long-running prostitution scheme.
—
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
Over hours of closed-door testimony, the Clintons both denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes prior to his guilty plea in 2008 for soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution.
—Ava Berger, NPR, 8 Apr. 2026
The records pulled back a curtain on favor-trading and frank communications in a chummy elite that looked past Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl in Florida.
—Jennifer Peltz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
The records pulled back a curtain on favor-trading and frank communications in a chummy elite that looked past Epstein's 2008 guilty plea to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl in Florida.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prostitution
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
Over hours of closed-door testimony, the Clintons both denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes prior to his guilty plea in 2008 for soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution.
—Ava Berger, NPR, 8 Apr. 2026
The records pulled back a curtain on favor-trading and frank communications in a chummy elite that looked past Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl in Florida.
—Jennifer Peltz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
The records pulled back a curtain on favor-trading and frank communications in a chummy elite that looked past Epstein's 2008 guilty plea to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl in Florida.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prostitution
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prostitution
harlotry
Noun
-
In one case, the life of an upper-class woman and contemporary of Julius Caesar, Clodia, saw her reputation destroyed by false claims of harlotry, home-wrecking, and husband-killing.—
Time,
Time,
24 Nov. 2025
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Within the slippery world of harlotry—where class can be transcended and humanity bought—relationships form that defy our historical assumptions about the bounded categories of human experience.—
Sarah Marshall,
New Republic,
2 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Prostitution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prostitution. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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