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
Traditionally, these sorts of pictures have allowed producers to peddle items of prurient interest under cover of edification, while maintaining an attitude of moral superiority that would have made little sense to the people the show is about.
—
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
In the decades that followed, the media took a similarly prurient tack in its coverage of women’s competitive swimming.
—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
See All Example Sentences for prurient
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
In the decades that followed, the media took a similarly prurient tack in its coverage of women’s competitive swimming.
—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
See All Example Sentences for prurient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prurient
Adjective
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However, evidence increasingly suggests that early in its life, Mars was a warm and wet planet much like our own.—
Jonathan O’Callaghan,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Apr. 2025
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Deals on seating Deals on outdoor rugs Deals on pools and hot tubs Deals on fire pits Deals on storage Deals lights and umbrella Deals on seating Seating areas can create a focal point in your garden decor and are a great place to relax in warmer weather.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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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The spicy salsa and tangy cucumber salad brought out the best of the tender birria.—
Jessica Boehm,
Axios,
9 Apr. 2025
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The finish is long and flavorful, with a lingering spicy aftertaste of cinnamon and clove notes.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Presented at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in 1976 as part of a group show of artists’ books, Santoro’s volume was immediately censored as obscene and offensive.—
Paola Ugolini,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
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Cybertruck owners have shared displays of hostility from other motorists on a Facebook page, including vulgar notes left on their vehicles and obscene gestures directed at them from passing cars.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA TODAY,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Espinoza was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts against a child victim.—
Anna Giaritelli,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Apr. 2025
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On Friday, he was arrested and questioned by detectives on two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a child.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
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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The conversation even turned a bit suggestive toward the end of the episode, when Chung pulled out a series of questions from a jar to ask her husband.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
2 Apr. 2025
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At night, its luminous structure will create suggestive shadow plays on the walls of the courtyard.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Chicagoans will have no one to hold accountable at the ballot box when the buses don’t arrive and rail stations are filthy and crime-ridden.—
Forrest Claypool,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
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The plastic waste China received was filthy, much of it too dirty to be cleaned, shredded, and turned into new plastic.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prurient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prurient. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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