Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The state or quality of being obscene.
- n. Indecency, lewdness, or offensiveness in behavior, expression, or appearance.
- n. Something, such as a word, act, or expression, that is indecent or lewd.
- n. Something that is offensive or repulsive to the senses: "What had once been a gentle hill covered with lush grass turned into a brown obscenity of bare earth and smoke” ( Tom Clancy).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. Something that is obscene.
- n. An act of obscene behaviour.
- n. Specifically, an offensive word; a profanity; a dirty word.
- n. The qualities that make something obscene; lewdness, indecency, or offensive behaviour.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. That quality in words or things which presents what is offensive to chastity or purity of mind; obscene or impure lanquage or acts; moral impurity; lewdness; obsceneness.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state or character of being obscene; impurity or indecency in action, expression, or representation: licentiousness; lewdness.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. the trait of behaving in an obscene manner
- n. an offensive or indecent word or phrase
- n. an obscene act
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Examples
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There is also what we call obscenity, that is hardcore pornography that is also illegal, even for adults, and that includes graphic sexual acts and also the deviant forms of pornography like bestiality, torture, rape.
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Plus, "Indecent Crackdown," the government cracked down on what it calls obscenity but is their definition the same as yours?
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In other words, instead of a “child pornography” exception which is pretty black and white, it should be more nuanced as seen in obscenity law and have a number of components, namely:
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But the true obscenity is the frighteningly large population still willing to espouse torture as government policy, not just pundits but holders of high office.
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The best solution in the wake of both the special election and this obscenity from the supreme court is to pass a constitutional amendment revoking the ridiculous claim of person hood for corporations and there by protections under the first amendment.
Think Progress » Chuck Todd: ‘The Tea Party gets a big benefit’ from Fox News’ promotion.
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The best solution in the wake of both the special election and this obscenity from the supreme court is to pass a constitutional amendment …
Think Progress » Chuck Todd: ‘The Tea Party gets a big benefit’ from Fox News’ promotion.
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CNN: Editor in obscenity trial for childbirth photos
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Smith notes how Cocteau once said of a Jean Genet poem, "His obscenity is never obscene."
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“The courts have repeatedly found that profanity, unlike obscenity, is protected speech.”
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The tortuous, not altogether articulate attempt of the Supreme Court to deal with the growing traffic in obscenity and pornography must be examined in detail if its latest decision, scrutinizing the motives of authors, editors, publishers, and booksellers, is to be understood.
hernesheir commented on the word obscenity
For information about the first printed examples of the "f" and "c" words, see the long entry @ flyting.
September 19, 2009