Synonyms of racy

racy

adjective

ˈrā-sē 

1

as in lively

having much high-spirited energy and movement

vivid writing and a racy plot that keeps readers turning the pages

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lively
• animated
• energetic
• active
• animate
• brisk
• bouncing
• spirited
• jaunty
• playful
• frisky
• jazzy
• zippy
• peppy
• kinetic
• sprightly
• perky
• enthusiastic
• vivacious
• spanking
• gay
• cheerful
• pert
• awake
• snappy
• springy
• airy
• sparky
• vital
• mettlesome
• on the go
• bright
• dashing
• agile
• up
• eager
• dapper
• spiffy
• pizazzy
• pizzazzy
• effervescent
• buoyant
• exuberant
• sparkly
• upbeat
• boisterous
• ebullient
• nimble
• wide-awake
• chipper
• bubbly
• spry
• alert
• chirpy
• agog
• nervous
• frolicsome
• impish
• keen
• high-spirited
• pixieish
• high-strung
• skittish
• open-eyed
• chirrupy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• languid
• inactive
• listless
• limp
• dead
• leaden
• lifeless
• inanimate
• lazy
• vapid
• inert
• languorous
• sluggish
• tired
• indolent
• sleepy
• weary
• languishing
• lackadaisical
• spiritless
• lethargic
• boring
• stolid
• dull
• tedious
• torpid
• unambitious
• impassive
• irksome
• apathetic
• phlegmatic

2

as in spicy

hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent

a raunchy comedy with language that was a little too racy for an eight-year-old child

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spicy
• suggestive
• vulgar
• bawdy
• lewd
• ribald
• risqué
• blue
• gamy
• naughty
• salty
• off
• pornographic
• off-color
• obscene
• crude
• gamey
• coarse
• off-colored
• raunchy
• nasty
• warm
• foul
• smutty
• prurient
• dirty
• earthy
• indecent
• filthy
• gross
• lascivious
• barnyard
• coarse-grained
• unprintable
• indelicate
• indecorous
• locker-room
• leering
• unpublishable
• X-rated
• immodest
• porny
• stag
• gutter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clean
• decent
• inoffensive
• innocuous
• G-rated
• prudish
• Victorian
• staid
• puritanical
• nonobscene
• proper
• prim
• straitlaced
• genteel
• correct
• polite
• decorous
• priggish
• nice
• respectable
• straightlaced
• seemly

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective racy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of racy are piquant, poignant, and pungent. While all these words mean "sharp and stimulating to the mind or the senses," racy implies having a strongly characteristic natural quality fresh and unimpaired.

spontaneous, racy prose

When might piquant be a better fit than racy?

While in some cases nearly identical to racy, piquant suggests a power to whet the appetite or interest through tartness or mild pungency.

a piquant sauce

In what contexts can poignant take the place of racy?

The synonyms poignant and racy are sometimes interchangeable, but poignant suggests something is sharply or piercingly effective in stirring one's emotions.

felt a poignant sense of loss

Where would pungent be a reasonable alternative to racy?

While the synonyms pungent and racy are close in meaning, pungent implies a sharp, stinging, or biting quality especially of odors.

a cheese with a pungent odor

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of racy

At that time, exchanges that were shared on Instagram and WhatsApp seemed to suggest the designer was trying to coax racy pictures from the youth. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 7 Feb. 2025

West also has no problem flaunting his lady’s assets, taking to Instagram last week with a racy snap of Censori wearing a tiny bikini that covered her nipples and nothing else. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 2 Feb. 2025

The 55-year-old wore a lace bustier beneath her jacket, prompting online criticism calling it racy and inappropriate for the official ceremony. —Sam Woodward, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2025

Katy Perry revealed her racy reaction to Orlando Bloom doing chores around the house. —Lauryn Overhultz, Fox News, 4 Sep. 2024