Obscenity — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the trait of behaving in an obscene manner

an offensive or indecent word or phrase

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/əbsˈɛnᵻɾi/

🇬🇧British English

/ɒbsˈɛnɪti/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɒbsˈɛnɪti/

4 syllables Say it as /əbsˈɛnᵻɾi/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

vulgarism filth salaciousness dirty word bawdiness salacity smut lewdness

Word Forms

obscene	adjective	designed to incite to indecency or lust; -Margaret Mead
lewd	adjective	suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
bawdy	adjective	humorously vulgar
salacious	adjective	characterized by lust
smutty	adjective	characterized by obscenity
filthy	adjective	characterized by obscenity

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Obszönität

die Eigenschaft, sich obszön zu verhalten

🇫🇷French

obscénité

le trait de se comporter de manière obscène

🇪🇸Spanish

obscenidad

el rasgo de comportarse de una manera obscena

🇮🇹Italian

oscenità

la caratteristica di comportarsi in modo osceno

🇳🇱Dutch

obsceniteit

de eigenschap van obsceen gedrag

🇵🇹Portuguese

obscenidade

a característica de se comportar de maneira obscena

🇷🇺Russian

непристойность

черта вести себя непристойно

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अश्लीलता

अभद्र व्यवहार करने का गुण

🇧🇩Bengali

অশ্লীলতা

একটি অশ্লীল পদ্ধতিতে আচরণের বৈশিষ্ট্য

🇮🇳Tamil

ஆபாசம்

ஆபாசமான முறையில் நடந்து கொள்ளும் பண்பு

🇮🇳Telugu

అశ్లీలత

అసభ్యకరమైన రీతిలో ప్రవర్తించే లక్షణం

🇮🇳Marathi

अश्लीलता

अश्लील रीतीने वागण्याचे वैशिष्ट्य

🇮🇳Gujarati

અશ્લીલતા

અશ્લીલ રીતે વર્તવાનું લક્ષણ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಶ್ಲೀಲತೆ

ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವರ್ತಿಸುವ ಲಕ್ಷಣ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അശ്ലീലം

അശ്ലീലമായി പെരുമാറുന്ന സ്വഭാവം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲਤਾ

ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਗੁਣ

🇵🇰Urdu

فحاشی

فحش انداز میں برتاؤ کرنے کی خصوصیت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

淫秽

行为不雅的特征

🇯🇵Japanese

猥褻

わいせつな行為をするという特徴

🇰🇷Korean

외설

외설적인 태도로 행동하는 특성

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự tục tĩu

đặc điểm của hành vi một cách tục tĩu

🇹🇭Thai

อนาจาร

ลักษณะการประพฤติตนในทางลามกอนาจาร

🇮🇩Indonesian

kecabulan

sifat berperilaku cabul

🇵🇭Filipino

kahalayan

ang katangian ng pag-uugali sa isang malaswang paraan

🇲🇾Malay

kelucahan

sifat berkelakuan lucah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الفحش

صفة التصرف بطريقة فاحشة

🇮🇷Persian

فحاشی

خصلت رفتار ناپسند

🇹🇷Turkish

müstehcenlik

müstehcen bir şekilde davranma özelliği

🇮🇱Hebrew

מַעֲשֶׂה מְגוּנֶה

התכונה של התנהגות מגונה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'obscenity'?

The primary meaning of 'obscenity' is 'the trait of behaving in an obscene manner'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'obscenity' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'obscenity' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'obscenity' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'obscenity' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'obscenity' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'obscenity' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'obscenity' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'obscenity' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'obscenity' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'obscenity' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted