OBSCENITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does obscenity mean? 

• OBSCENITY (noun)
  The noun OBSCENITY has 3 senses:

1. the trait of behaving in an obscene manner

2. an offensive or indecent word or phrase

3. an obscene act

  Familiarity information: OBSCENITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OBSCENITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The trait of behaving in an obscene manner

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

bawdiness; lewdness; obscenity; salaciousness; salacity

Hypernyms ("obscenity" is a kind of...):

indecency (the quality of being indecent)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obscenity"):

dirtiness; smuttiness (obscenity in speech or writing)

Derivation:

obscene (suggestive of or tending to moral looseness)

obscene (designed to incite to indecency or lust)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An offensive or indecent word or phrase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

dirty word; filth; obscenity; smut; vulgarism

Hypernyms ("obscenity" is a kind of...):

profanity (vulgar or irreverent speech or action)

Domain member usage:

ass; fuck; fucking; nookie; nooky; piece of ass; piece of tail; roll in the hay; screw; screwing; shag; shtup (slang for sexual intercourse)

cock; dick; pecker; prick; putz; shaft; tool (obscene terms for penis)

bull; bullshit; crap; dogshit; horseshit; Irish bull; shit (obscene words for unacceptable behavior)

chickenshit (a false statement that is considered to indicate timidity or fear)

asshole; bastard; cocksucker; dickhead; mother fucker; motherfucker; prick; shit; SOB; son of a bitch; whoreson (insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous)

pee; peeing; piss; pissing (informal terms for urination)

bugger all; Fanny Adams; fuck all; sweet Fanny Adams (little or nothing at all)

crap; dirt; poop; shit; shite; turd (obscene terms for feces)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obscenity"):

bawdry; bawdy (lewd or obscene talk or writing)

scatology (a preoccupation with obscenity (especially that dealing with excrement or excretory functions))

Derivation:

obscene (offensive to the mind)

Domain member usage:

shitless ((used as complement) to the utmost degree)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An obscene act

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("obscenity" is a kind of...):

impropriety; indecency (an indecent or improper act)

Derivation:

obscene (offensive to the mind)

 Context examples 

One of the hunters, a little dark-eyed man whom his mates called Smoke, was telling stories, liberally intersprinkled with oaths and obscenities; and every minute or so the group of hunters gave mouth to a laughter that sounded to me like a wolf-chorus or the barking of hell-hounds.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He saw cowboys at the bar, drinking fierce whiskey, the air filled with obscenity and ribald language, and he saw himself with them drinking and cursing with the wildest, or sitting at table with them, under smoking kerosene lamps, while the chips clicked and clattered and the cards were dealt around.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)