pruriency
/pruriency/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A morbid or excessive interest in sexual matters; lewdness: Pruriency refers to an unhealthy, obsessive focus on sexual thoughts or desires, often characterized by an inappropriate curiosity. 2. A propensity toward lustful thoughts or behavior: It describes a tendency to have or exhibit excessive sexual desire.
Usage
- Pruriency is a formal, often clinical or literary term used to describe unhealthy sexual interest.
- It typically carries a negative connotation, implying something pathological or morally objectionable.
- It is commonly found in psychological, medical, or critical discourse.
Examples
- The novel was criticized not for its political themes but for its pruriency and graphic content.
- The therapist noted that his client's pruriency was a symptom of a deeper psychological issue.
- Victorian society often masked its pruriency behind a facade of strict morality.
Advanced Usage
- "Pruriency of the mind": A phrase used to describe an obsessive, unhealthy preoccupation with sexual thoughts.
- The scandal sheets fed the public's pruriency of the mind.
- Used in legal or journalistic contexts to critique media that exploits sexual content.
- The report accused the tabloid of catering to pruriency rather than public interest.
Variants and Related Words
- Prurient (adj): Having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.
- The film was accused of being prurient.
- Prurience (n): A synonym for pruriency, meaning morbid sexual desire or curiosity.
- He wrote about human vice with a tone of detached prurience.
Synonyms
- Lasciviousness: Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire.
- Lewdness: The quality of being crude and offensive in a sexual way.
- Salaciousness: The characteristic of being excessively interested in sexual matters.
Antonyms
- Chastity: The state of refraining from extramarital, or from all, sexual intercourse.
- Modesty: The quality of being relatively moderate, limited, or small in amount, rate, or level; also, behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency.
Related Idioms/Phrases
(While "pruriency" itself is not commonly used in idioms, it relates to concepts in fixed phrases.) - Morbid curiosity: An unhealthy and obsessive interest in disturbing subjects, which can encompass prurient interest. - He read the details of the crime not out of concern but morbid curiosity.
Noun
- feeling morbid sexual desire or a propensity to lewdness