Obscenely
[uh b-seen] /əbˈsin/
adjective
1.
offensive to morality or decency; indecent; depraved:
obscene language.
2.
causing uncontrolled sexual desire.
3.
abominable; disgusting; repulsive.
/əbˈsiːn/
adjective
1.
offensive or outrageous to accepted standards of decency or modesty
2.
(law) (of publications) having a tendency to deprave or corrupt
3.
disgusting; repellent: an obscene massacre
adj.
1590s, “offensive to the senses, or to taste and refinement,” from Middle French obscène (16c.), from Latin obscenus “offensive,” especially to modesty, originally “boding ill, inauspicious,” of unknown origin; perhaps from ob “onto” (see ob-) + caenum “filth.” Meaning “offensive to modesty or decency” is attested from 1590s. Legally, in U.S., it hinged on “whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest.” [Justice William Brennan, “Roth v. United States,” June 24, 1957]; refined in 1973 by “Miller v. California”:
The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards’ would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Related: Obscenely.
Read Also:
- Obscenities
[uh b-sen-i-tee, -see-ni-] /əbˈsɛn ɪ ti, -ˈsi nɪ-/ noun, plural obscenities for 2, 3. 1. the character or quality of being ; indecency; lewdness. 2. something , as a picture or story. 3. an word or expression, especially when used as an invective. /əbˈsɛnɪtɪ/ noun (pl) -ties 1. the state or quality of being obscene […]
- Obscurant
[uh b-skyoo r-uh nt] /əbˈskyʊər ənt/ noun 1. a person who strives to prevent the increase and spread of knowledge. 2. a person who . adjective 3. pertaining to or characteristic of obscurants. 4. tending to make . /əbˈskjʊərənt/ noun 1. an opposer of reform and enlightenment adjective 2. of or relating to an obscurant […]
- Obscurantism
[uh b-skyoo r-uh n-tiz-uh m, ob-skyoo-ran-tiz-uh m] /əbˈskyʊər ənˌtɪz əm, ˌɒb skyʊˈræn tɪz əm/ noun 1. opposition to the increase and spread of knowledge. 2. deliberate obscurity or evasion of clarity. n. “opposition to enlightenment,” 1834, from German obscurantismus (18c.); see obscurant + -ism.
- Obscurantist
[uh b-skyoo r-uh n-tiz-uh m, ob-skyoo-ran-tiz-uh m] /əbˈskyʊər ənˌtɪz əm, ˌɒb skyʊˈræn tɪz əm/ noun 1. opposition to the increase and spread of knowledge. 2. deliberate obscurity or evasion of clarity. n. 1841; see obscurantism + -ist. n. “opposition to enlightenment,” 1834, from German obscurantismus (18c.); see obscurant + -ism.
- Obscuration
[ob-skyoo-rey-shuh n] /ˌɒb skyʊˈreɪ ʃən/ noun 1. the act of . 2. the state of being . n. late 15c., from Latin obscurationem (nominative obscuratio) “a darkening, obscuring,” noun of action from past participle stem of obscurare (see obscure (v.)).