as in warm
formal + usually disapproving
having or showing too much interest in sex
He took a prurient interest in their personal life. a book that appealed to the prurient curiosity of its readers
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Recent Examples of prurient
And yet this prurient curiosity also threatened the delicate equilibrium between devout Mormonism and hot-mom content that the group’s women were attempting to maintain.
—
Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2024
Traditionally, these sorts of pictures have allowed producers to peddle items of prurient interest under cover of edification, while maintaining an attitude of moral superiority that would have made little sense to the people the show is about.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
In the decades that followed, the media took a similarly prurient tack in its coverage of women’s competitive swimming.
—Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
But beyond it, Morgan sketches a real Manhattan ruled by prurient and destructive masculine appetites, from subway tunnels occupied by ad hoc homeless communities to office towers where the city’s most powerful residents impose their wills on millions of fellow New Yorkers.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for prurient
Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2024
Traditionally, these sorts of pictures have allowed producers to peddle items of prurient interest under cover of edification, while maintaining an attitude of moral superiority that would have made little sense to the people the show is about.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
In the decades that followed, the media took a similarly prurient tack in its coverage of women’s competitive swimming.
—Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
But beyond it, Morgan sketches a real Manhattan ruled by prurient and destructive masculine appetites, from subway tunnels occupied by ad hoc homeless communities to office towers where the city’s most powerful residents impose their wills on millions of fellow New Yorkers.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for prurient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prurient
Adjective
-
Concrete and asphalt radiate heat absorbed during the day, making urban areas typically several degrees warmer than rural areas, the weather service said.—
Rebecca Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
22 June 2025
-
In Alaska, warm and dry conditions coupled with frequent thunderstorms and lightning have resulted in more than 100 fires since Wednesday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 June 2025
Adjective
-
Most of my writing energy went into composing my vast unpublishable novels, one and then another.—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper's Magazine,
22 Aug. 2024
-
Contemporary critics tend to breeze through the last two decades of Schwartz’s life, hitting only the saddest events: the second divorce; the increasing alcoholism; the unpublishable poems, many written during bouts of mania; the money problems; the undignified death.—
Maggie Doherty,
The New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2024
Adjective
-
Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool across seven days from the end of November looks particularly spicy.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
-
Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work - there was only one thing left to do!—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
The ex-data processor for the Boston Transportation Department was previously convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of: rape of a child, assault to rape a child, indecent assault and battery on a child, disseminating obscene material to a minor, and possession of child pornography.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
24 June 2025
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But the legal standard for what qualifies as obscene is extremely high.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
Rafah faces 12 counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with minors, according to a South San Francisco Police Department news release.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
23 May 2025
-
Norman Riemer, 54, was arrested on April 30 and is facing five counts of lewd or lascivious molestation against a victim under the age of 12.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2025
Adjective
-
The juvenile in Canada was charged with indecent communications, uttering threats, public mischief and mischief over $5,000.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Cowan was arrested in August 2011 and charged with Daniel’s murder, indecent treatment and interfering with a corpse, the report states.—
Nicole Acosta,
People.com,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Commenters argued the suggestive nature of the song could direct bad actors toward LaR'iyah's videos.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
11 June 2025
-
The movie is quite true to its world - a world full of slapstick comedy, unfunny jokes, and vulgar and suggestive dialogues.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Adjective
-
Troubled Factories: The medications came mostly from plants in India where inspectors found contaminated drugs, filthy labs and falsified records.—
Debbie Cenziper,
ProPublica,
17 June 2025
-
The next year, his fame reached a new echelon after the release of Pumping Iron, a docudrama that highlighted Schwarzenegger's strange charisma and filthy sense of humor.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prurient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prurient. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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