1
as in vulgarity
the quality or state of being obscene
the song couldn't be performed on the air due to the obscenity of the lyrics
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2
as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression
uttered a loud obscenity when he dropped the hammer on his toe
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of obscenity
The Puerto Rican National Guard even raided music stores to seize records for violating obscenity laws in the 1990s, when reggaeton was still largely underground.
—
Genevieve Glatsky, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Tate, the Republican octogenarian, wasn’t the first to utter an obscenity.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
Hwang seems to be suggesting that a line can indeed be drawn from the cultural tempests – too easily dismissed as matters of political correctness – to the real-world tragedies and obscenities that send innocent men to jail and early graves.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024
These days, when people seem eager to scream obscenities at passing strangers, who can believe that anyone would take the trouble to be so subtle with an insult?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obscenity 
Genevieve Glatsky, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Tate, the Republican octogenarian, wasn’t the first to utter an obscenity.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
Hwang seems to be suggesting that a line can indeed be drawn from the cultural tempests – too easily dismissed as matters of political correctness – to the real-world tragedies and obscenities that send innocent men to jail and early graves.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024
These days, when people seem eager to scream obscenities at passing strangers, who can believe that anyone would take the trouble to be so subtle with an insult?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obscenity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obscenity
Noun
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Corbet’s awkward forcing of his characters into his conceptual framework leads to absurdities and vulgarities—not least in the depiction of László’s first and only Black acquaintance, a laborer named Gordon (Isaach De Bankolé), as a heroin addict.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
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Some council members who took issue with the sign relented after then-Metro Council attorney Mike Jameson advised that rejecting Rock's sign due to vulgarity or obscenity could lead to a First Amendment lawsuit.—
Cassandra Stephenson,
The Tennessean,
22 May 2024
Noun
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And anyone who believed in curses was gaining some evidence.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
19 Jan. 2025
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Cubs fan sabotages his own team and extends the most infamous curse in MLB history During Game 6 of the 2003 National League Division vs. the then-Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out and grabbed a ball that could have been caught.—
Jackson Thompson,
Fox News,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The station asked the band not to include the swears.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
2 Dec. 2024
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There’s a heavy focus on Asia’s first One&Only spa, featuring a green caviar body exfoliation and an Augustinus Bader facial celebs swear by.—
Katie Lockhart,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Glenn Close censored for using profanity during live Golden Globes broadcast One of those losses came in the Best Actress category, where Demi Moore triumphed over Anora's Madison, whom many predicted would win the award.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
6 Jan. 2025
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There was a funny moment when ESPN 1320’s James Ham told Christie he would be fined for using profanity.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacramento Bee,
31 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Some 240 people work there in various tech startups, AI incubators and food science labs, conducting research and business in at least 14 languages.—
Ann Abel,
Forbes,
15 Jan. 2025
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Part of the reason behind that was to control for differences between morphologically rich languages, where a single word may correspond to multiple words in morphologically simple languages.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
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The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.—
Time,
Time,
11 June 2019
Noun
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Ricardo Reyes Mata, a catholic priest and Dallas resident, was arrested by Garland police Monday on two felony counts of indecency with a child, police said in a release.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American-Statesman,
7 May 2024
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The announcement comes after the district on July 31 told parents that LBJ band, piano and choir teacher Rodney Childers had been arrested and charged with indecency with a child by exposure and two counts of improper educator-student relationship, all second-degree felonies.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American-Statesman,
8 Aug. 2024
Noun
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The duo tweeted at each other earlier this year, after SZA, using an expletive, demanded a new season of the show immediately.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
20 Dec. 2024
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But Andre Zachary, Neely’s father, was escorted out of the courtroom after an outburst that included expletives, according to CNN.—
Cheyanne M. Daniels,
The Hill,
9 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near obscenity
Cite this Entry
“Obscenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obscenity. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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