Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires: Characterized by or showing excessive or uncontrolled sexual desire. It describes a strong, often obsessive, focus on sexual gratification.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The novel's antagonist was portrayed as a libidinous tyrant, using his power to satisfy his carnal appetites.
  • His libidinous glances made everyone in the room uncomfortable.
  • The critic dismissed the film as a cheap attempt to appeal to libidinous interests rather than artistic merit.

Advanced Usage

• In a clinical or literary context: The term is often used in formal, critical, or psychological descriptions to denote unhealthy or excessive sexual obsession, rather than simple desire.
  • The psychiatrist noted the patient's libidinous fantasies were a symptom of a deeper compulsive disorder.
• As a character trait: Frequently used to describe a person's defining characteristic in narratives.
  • In the play, the libidinous old nobleman is ultimately undone by his own appetites.

Variants and Related Words

• Libido (n): Sexual drive or desire. This is the noun form from which "libidinous" is derived.
  • He claimed the medication affected his libido.
• Libidinously (adv): In a libidinous manner.
  • He stared libidinously at the painting.

Synonyms

• Lascivious: Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire.
• Lecherous: Having or showing excessive or offensive sexual desire.
• Lustful: Full of or motivated by lust.
• Salacious: Treating sexual matters in an indecent way and typically conveying undue interest in or enjoyment of the subject.

Antonyms

• Chaste: Abstaining from extramarital, or from all, sexual intercourse.
• Asexual: Without sexual feelings or associations.
• Prudish: Easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Libidinous energy: A phrase sometimes used to describe a powerful, driving force of sexual desire.
  • The poet channeled his libidinous energy into his early, passionate works. (Note: "Libidinous" itself is not commonly the base for widespread idioms or phrasal verbs; its use is typically as a standalone descriptive adjective.)

Adjective

1. driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires
   • libidinous orgies