Obscene

/əbˈsiːn/ · adjective

Meaning

Offensive to standards of decency or morality..

Definitions by Sense

1. Offensive to standards of decency or morality.
2. Lewd or lustful.
3. Disgusting or repulsive.
4. (by extension) Beyond all reason; excessive.
5. (chiefly British, criminal law) Liable to corrupt or deprave.
6. (ambitransitive, rare) To act or speak in an obscene manner; to offend.

Example Sentences

[...] I did incounter that obſeene and moſt prepoſterous euent that draweth frõ my ſnowhite pen the ebon coloured Incke, which here thou vieweſt, beholdeſt, ſuruayeſt, or ſeeſt. [...] There did I ſee that low ſpirited Swaine, [...] hight Coſtard, (Clow[ne]. O mee) ſorted and conſorted contrary to thy eſtabliſhed proclaymed Edict and continent Cannon; Which with, o with, but with this I paſſion to ſay wherewith: / Clo[wne]. With a Wench.

Neither do wee pleaſe them with their owne crimes, or obſcæne ſpectacles: whereas they celebrate both the guilt that there gods incurred who were men, and the fayned pleaſures of ſuch of them as were flat deuills.

Shall I recount his intemperance, voluptuouſneſs, and obſcæne manner of living? or his impious, doubtful or wicked end? no, let them be buried with his aſhes.

What is obscene today may not be so tomorrow or what is obscene at one place may not be obscene at another place.

The chapter closes with some thoughts on the obscene consumer from both a postmodern, and especially a modern, perspective. From the latter point of view, the obscene consumer is one who either consumes too little or who consumes what are, from the perspective of consumer society, the 'wrong' things (heroin, guns). (I propose the concept of the 'dangerous consumer' here since it is clear that such consumers can pose a danger to contemporary society.) From a postmodern perspective, the obscene consumer is one who consumes in a highly visible manner.

South Park, at the end of the twentieth century, earned international acclaim as the most obscene, scatological, sacrilegious, and popular comedy in the American mainstream and became a leading profit center for Comedy Central.

However, the new is not radical or provocative or obscene a priori. Provocation develops when the 'communicative contract' between the clothing and the consumer is broken, resulting in shocked rejection or euphoric acceptance.

Playes are the nurseries of vice, the bawd, / That thorow the senses steales our hearts abroad, / Tainting our eares with obscæne bawdery, / Lascivious words, and wanton ribaulry.

Synonyms for obscene

Antonyms for obscene

Related Words

Word Forms

• obscener
• more obscene
• obscenest
• most obscene
• obscæne
• obscenes
• obscening
• obscened

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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