1
as in pornographic
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
obscene gestures are totally inappropriate in the workplace
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
that ugly new store is really an obscene bit of architecture
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obscene
The store supplied her with bondage pants, kilts, and T-shirts printed with obscene illustrations.
—
Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
The couple quickly began receiving death threats and obscene phone calls.
—Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
That’s when Talbot drove his vehicle at about 15 miles per hour and struck the man while making an obscene gesture, according to court documents.
—Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 26 Aug. 2025
Part of that obscene number is the Never Say Die Ladies Turf Sprint.
—Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obscene
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obscene
Adjective
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Tips relating to pornographic activity, according to Treasury, also would not qualify for the tax break.—
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As of state legislation passed in 2024, creating or distributing non-consensual pornographic deepfakes is a misdemeanor offense in Indiana.—
Adjective
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Don’t notice all the ways humans are disgusting.—
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But this disgusting and hateful speech is still speech and is protected by our First Amendment.—
Adjective
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Despite the heavy central theme of chronic illness, there’s a delicious bawdiness to Will There Ever Be Another You, a vulgar juvenilia evoking graffiti-tag genitals or the ding dong ditch scene from Billy Madison.—
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The book is filled with vulgar pictures, with many faces blacked out, and messages both handwritten and typed from well-wishers for Epstein’s 50th birthday.—
Adjective
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As if the Twins hadn’t experienced enough misery, September opened at home with an ugly, four-game sweep by the White Sox, who lost at least 100 games for the third year in a row.—
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When the Motion Picture Association of America joined the consortium, in 2014, the fight grew uglier.—
Adjective
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Instead, Rocchio walloped a fastball off the right-field foul pole for a walk-off homer, an exclamation point at the end of a regular season that culminated in an improbable AL Central crown.—
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Officers responded to the scene after a foul odor was reported coming from the vehicle.—
Adjective
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Trump has said repeatedly that Kimmel's ratings are awful.—
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As inane and sterile as the marketing was, the actual event wasn’t awful.—
Adjective
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Big, nasty and physical, Kalani Sitake’s bunch controls the ball on offense and gets it back quickly on defense.—
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Chad Powers’ nasty protagonist should give it license to be more cutting, rather than just unimaginatively crude, in its humor.—
Adjective
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To come in and have [designers] fight over my Polaroid would be so sickening, or even a judge on the show.—
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Man arrested for sickening act at Charlie Kirk memorial outside Turning Point HQ MAJOR HEADLINES PARTY POWERPLAY – Zohran Mamdani lands key endorsement in New York City mayoral race.—
Cite this Entry
“Obscene.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obscene. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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