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
• active
• animate
• brisk
• bouncing
• spirited
• jaunty
• playful
• frisky
• jazzy
• zippy
• peppy
• kinetic
• sprightly
• perky
• enthusiastic
• vivacious
• spanking
• gay
• cheerful
• pert
• awake
• snappy
• springy
• airy
• sparky
• vital
• mettlesome
• on the go
• bright
• dashing
• agile
• up
• eager
• dapper
• spiffy
• pizazzy
• pizzazzy
• effervescent
• 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
• vulgar
• bawdy
• lewd
• ribald
• risqué
• blue
• gamy
• naughty
• salty
• off
• pornographic
• off-color
• obscene
• crude
• gamey
• coarse
• off-colored
• 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
• straitlaced
• genteel
• correct
• polite
• decorous
• priggish
• nice
• respectable
• straightlaced
• 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

Months after ads for lactation cookies by the pregnant cookbook author Molly Baz were pulled down from Times Square for being too racy, Bobbie put a postpartum Ms. Baz back up there with her newborn latched to one breast and a can of its formula in one hand. —Alisha Haridasani Gupta, New York Times, 31 May 2025

The 2024 Neely Grüner Veltliner, Block Verde, is racy yet satisfying, with a perfect mix of green apple, stone fruit and lime. —Laura Ness, Mercury News, 13 May 2025

Escaping royal dress codes Royal biographer Katie Nicholl has claimed that Diana worried the racy outfit might embarrass her then-14-year-old son, Prince William. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 4 May 2025

The film's first cut earned an R rating due to Edward and Bella's racy consummation scene, which was ultimately tweaked in the editing room. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 3 May 2025