1
as in pornographic
dealing in or with explicitly sexual material
for his comedy-club performances the stand-up comic's routines are definitely X-rated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
the jerk should have known better than to tell an X-rated joke at a company function
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of X-rated
The content of its productions has included legitimate theater, vaudeville, burlesque, striptease, movies (many X-rated), classical music and jazz as well as occasional forays into boxing, bodybuilding and politics.
—
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
For the first seven years of the rating system (1969-1975), nearly half of the top films (33 of 70) were R- or X-rated.
—Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
What audiences see are silhouettes engaged in a shadow play of entwined hands and arched backs, sensual but not X-rated.
—Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
Granted, none of these are X-rated, but one of my concerns is that the intensity of this online relationship has grown quite exponentially in a very short time and could very well lead to actual X-rated.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
Keep the red boost light on with your right foot and the Riviera will eventually peak out at 105 mph, although the speedometer is X-rated above 85.
—Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
For the first seven years of the rating system (1969-1975), nearly half of the top films (33 of 70) were R- or X-rated.
—Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
What audiences see are silhouettes engaged in a shadow play of entwined hands and arched backs, sensual but not X-rated.
—Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
Granted, none of these are X-rated, but one of my concerns is that the intensity of this online relationship has grown quite exponentially in a very short time and could very well lead to actual X-rated.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
Keep the red boost light on with your right foot and the Riviera will eventually peak out at 105 mph, although the speedometer is X-rated above 85.
—Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for X-rated
Adjective
-
According to the criminal complaint, the victims told police that Meyers asked them to send nude photos or make pornographic videos.—
Ross Guidotti,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The employees also sent pornographic magazines with the husband’s name on them to a neighbor’s home and planned to break into the couple’s garage to install a GPS device on their car.—
Leah Willingham,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Others include copropraxia, or obscene gestures, and non-obscene but socially inappropriate tics, such as making kissing sounds, spitting or touching others.—
Rena Zito,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Davidson has Tourette's with Coprolalia, which involves involuntary outbursts of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks, according to the Tourette Association of America.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
For many readers and critics, the perception was that Mansfield was almost writing children’s fiction, since most of her stories are deceptively easy to read, although her themes are entirely adult in both form and content.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Dec. 2025
-
Justin Vernon’s midwestern charm and pliable falsetto has always endeared him to indie-rock dads raised on Michael McDonald, but starting a family himself between Bon Iver projects turned this year’s Sable, Fable into a deep examination of the fatherly adult contemporary figure in popular music.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
2 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
There is a new lowlife generation that can’t speak without using vulgar terms.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
One of the most disgraceful aspects of the current administration is that our president uses vulgar and scatological language to disparage people who disagree with him.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And more recently, Anthropic staked out principled positions on not incorporating advertising into its Claude products and not developing chatbots specifically designed to be romantic or erotic companions.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Their connection is immediate, supernatural, and deeply erotic.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“X-rated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/X-rated. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
