risqué

adjective

ris·​qué ri-ˈskā 

: verging on impropriety or indecency : off-color

a risqué joke

Synonyms

• bawdy
• blue
• gamy
• gamey
• lewd
• off
• off-color
• off-colored
• racy
• ribald
• salty
• spicy
• suggestive

Examples of risqué in a Sentence

a song with risqué lyrics

the bridal shower was filled with risqué banter and laughter

Recent Examples on the Web

Tichina Arnold donned a risque gown with a high slit cut-out in black and silver. —Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 23 Feb. 2025

Many deemed her performances as being quite risque, but DeSanto always took pride in her rowdy live shows. —Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2024

Altered video misrepresents 2018 segment of Maddow's show The video in the Instagram post shows a risque meme Musk shared on his X social media platform about being tempted to purchase MSNBC. —Andre Byik, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2024

The peek-a-boo portion at the top of this shoe is cheeky and a bit risque. —Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 27 Sep. 2024

At the other end are risque performances, professional haunt-industry tutorials and testimonials, and horror film celebrity panels. —Scott Feinblatt, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024

The restaurants quickly drew attention for the then-shocking skimpy outfits and also for risque and misogynistic themes, jokes and signage. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 2024

Take a look at some of the risque designs (these might not be suitable for work, so prudes beware) This story was originally published June 3, 2024, 3:59 PM. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024

And it was tacitly understood that an audience that elected to stay up after the local news, past midnight on weeknights, might be ready for something relatively sophisticated, cosmopolitan and a little risque. —Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from past participle of risquer to risk, from risque

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above