Synonyms of racy

racy

adjective

ˈrā-sē 

1

as in lively

having much high-spirited energy and movement

vivid writing and a racy plot that keeps readers turning the pages

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lively
• animated
• energetic
• animate
• active
• brisk
• bouncing
• spirited
• jaunty
• playful
• frisky
• jazzy
• zippy
• peppy
• kinetic
• sprightly
• perky
• enthusiastic
• vivacious
• spanking
• pert
• cheerful
• gay
• awake
• snappy
• airy
• springy
• sparky
• vital
• on the go
• mettlesome
• bright
• dashing
• agile
• up
• eager
• dapper
• spiffy
• effervescent
• pizzazzy
• buoyant
• exuberant
• sparkly
• upbeat
• boisterous
• ebullient
• nimble
• wide-awake
• chipper
• bubbly
• spry
• alert
• chirpy
• agog
• nervous
• frolicsome
• impish
• keen
• high-spirited
• pixieish
• high-strung
• skittish
• open-eyed
• chirrupy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• languid
• inactive
• listless
• limp
• dead
• leaden
• lifeless
• inanimate
• lazy
• vapid
• inert
• languorous
• sluggish
• tired
• indolent
• sleepy
• weary
• languishing
• lackadaisical
• spiritless
• lethargic
• boring
• stolid
• dull
• tedious
• torpid
• unambitious
• impassive
• irksome
• apathetic
• phlegmatic

2

as in spicy

hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent

a raunchy comedy with language that was a little too racy for an eight-year-old child

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spicy
• suggestive
• bawdy
• vulgar
• lewd
• ribald
• risqué
• blue
• gamy
• naughty
• salty
• off
• pornographic
• off-color
• obscene
• crude
• coarse
• raunchy
• nasty
• warm
• foul
• smutty
• prurient
• dirty
• earthy
• indecent
• filthy
• gross
• lascivious
• barnyard
• coarse-grained
• unprintable
• indelicate
• indecorous
• locker-room
• leering
• unpublishable
• X-rated
• immodest
• porny
• stag
• gutter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clean
• decent
• inoffensive
• innocuous
• G-rated
• prudish
• Victorian
• staid
• puritanical
• nonobscene
• proper
• prim
• genteel
• correct
• polite
• decorous
• priggish
• nice
• respectable
• straitlaced
• seemly

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective racy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of racy are piquant, poignant, and pungent. While all these words mean "sharp and stimulating to the mind or the senses," racy implies having a strongly characteristic natural quality fresh and unimpaired.

spontaneous, racy prose

When might piquant be a better fit than racy?

While in some cases nearly identical to racy, piquant suggests a power to whet the appetite or interest through tartness or mild pungency.

a piquant sauce

In what contexts can poignant take the place of racy?

The synonyms poignant and racy are sometimes interchangeable, but poignant suggests something is sharply or piercingly effective in stirring one's emotions.

felt a poignant sense of loss

Where would pungent be a reasonable alternative to racy?

While the synonyms pungent and racy are close in meaning, pungent implies a sharp, stinging, or biting quality especially of odors.

a cheese with a pungent odor

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of racy

Which helps explain why, around this time of year, certain social media feeds are inundated with racy FYI posts by adult stars courting votes. —Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 3 Jan. 2026

Yet for all the racy effusion, the point wasn’t so much self-exposure as self-expression. —Rosa Lyster, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

Stockman wasn’t initially expecting the audience to be so female-heavy, given how racy the books can get. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025

Even with the racier hemline and skin-revealing sheerness, her silhouette still feels classic and timeless. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025