as in warm
formal + usually disapproving
having or showing too much interest in sex
He took a prurient interest in their personal life. a book that appealed to the prurient curiosity of its readers
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Recent Examples of prurient
In the decades that followed, the media took a similarly prurient tack in its coverage of women’s competitive swimming.
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Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
But beyond it, Morgan sketches a real Manhattan ruled by prurient and destructive masculine appetites, from subway tunnels occupied by ad hoc homeless communities to office towers where the city’s most powerful residents impose their wills on millions of fellow New Yorkers.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024
That might also have had something to do with a male protagonist being less subject to the prurient aspects of Sorrentino’s gaze.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
The common theme emerging from these politically conservative Marylanders is that Maryland public school librarians have nothing substantial to offer regarding the protection of young minds from prurient interests.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prurient 
Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
But beyond it, Morgan sketches a real Manhattan ruled by prurient and destructive masculine appetites, from subway tunnels occupied by ad hoc homeless communities to office towers where the city’s most powerful residents impose their wills on millions of fellow New Yorkers.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024
That might also have had something to do with a male protagonist being less subject to the prurient aspects of Sorrentino’s gaze.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
The common theme emerging from these politically conservative Marylanders is that Maryland public school librarians have nothing substantial to offer regarding the protection of young minds from prurient interests.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prurient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prurient
Adjective
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If frostbite occurs, move indoors, remove wet clothing, and soak the affected body part in warm water.Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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Scientists expect the iceberg to head toward South Georgia island where warmer water is likely to trigger a breakup of the big berg into smaller chunks.Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Most of my writing energy went into composing my vast unpublishable novels, one and then another.Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
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Contemporary critics tend to breeze through the last two decades of Schwartz’s life, hitting only the saddest events: the second divorce; the increasing alcoholism; the unpublishable poems, many written during bouts of mania; the money problems; the undignified death.Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Adjective
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North Carolina has its own hot and spicy chicken, made famous at a restaurant in Salisbury.Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2024
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Bright and fruity with plenty of herbs and juniper essence and an almost spicy zip on the palate.Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Of course, obscene content has been censored, and services that clearly broke intellectual property laws, like Napster, WikiLeaks, and The Pirate Bay were shuttered, but, for the average person, the internet remained broadly open in the United States.Callum Booth, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
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There have now been 21 fines due to obscene gestures this season.Ryan Morik, Fox News, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Urias was booked into the St. Lucie County jail on counts that included lewd and lascivious behavior, burglary, possession of marijuana and battery of a law enforcement officer.WPEC Staff, Baltimore Sun, 4 Dec. 2024
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Joe Urias was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, burglary of an unoccupied structure, marijuana possession and battery on an officer, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.Christine Pelisek, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Orange Beach has a vulgarity ordinance on the books, which was enacted about a decade ago amid concerns about vulgar or indecent T-shirts and other merchandise sold at souvenir stores.al, al, 20 Jan. 2023
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Because there are more good people than indecent ones.Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 12 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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To emphasize this, Wolfe’s production is suggestive, even surreal.Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
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Who knows what’s actually happening inside Sheridan’s enormous ham-with-a-cowboy-hat-on head, but season five’s back half is highly suggestive of some deep inner personal truth bursting through the fictional substrate.Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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My father was living alone in that dark, filthy room like an old animal wallowing in its own excrement.Lee Chang-dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
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Down and out in Tinseltown, where white glistening snow turns to filthy slush.Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Prurient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prurient. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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