prurient

/prurient/

Học thuật

Thân thiện

A student avoids looking at the prurient magazine on the newsstand.

Definition

Adjective:
- Characterized by or arousing an excessive or unwholesome interest in sexual matters: "prurient" describes something that shows, stimulates, or is motivated by an unhealthy or excessive curiosity about sex.
- Having or encouraging lustful thoughts or desires: It can describe a person's state of mind or the nature of materials intended to provoke sexual excitement.

Usage and Examples

As an adjective:
- The novel was banned for its prurient content. (The novel was prohibited because it contained material designed to arouse excessive sexual interest.)
- He was accused of having a prurient interest in the scandal. (He was charged with having an unhealthy, voyeuristic curiosity about the scandalous details.)
- The tabloid's coverage was criticized for being prurient rather than informative. (The newspaper's reporting was condemned for focusing on salacious details instead of facts.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

Legal Context: In legal definitions, such as for obscenity, "prurient interest" often refers to a shameful or morbid interest in sex, as opposed to a normal, healthy interest.
- The law seeks to distinguish between artistic expression and material appealing solely to a prurient interest.
Figurative Use: While primarily sexual, it can sometimes be used more broadly to criticize an excessive, intrusive, or unhealthy curiosity about any private or sordid matter.
- The journalist rejected prurient questions about the celebrity's personal life.

Variants and Related Words

Prurience (noun): The state or quality of being prurient; excessive interest in sexual matters.
- The prurience of the article was offensive to many readers.
Pruriently (adverb): In a prurient manner.
- He glanced pruriently at the couple.

Synonyms

Lascivious: Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire.
Salacious: Having or conveying undue or inappropriate interest in sexual matters.
Lustful: Full of or motivated by strong sexual desire.
Lewd: Crude and offensive in a sexual way.

Antonyms

Chaste: Abstaining from extramarital, or from all, sexual intercourse; not involving any sexual activity or imagery.
Modest: Unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities or achievements; also, dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency.
Pure: Not mixed with any other substance; free of any contamination. In a moral sense, free of sexual immorality.

Idioms and Phrases

Prurient interest: A legal and common phrase denoting an unhealthy, voyeuristic fascination, especially with sexual details.
- The film was alleged to appeal to the prurient interest without any redeeming social value.

A student avoids looking at the prurient magazine on the newsstand.

Adjective

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