Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty; lewd or vulgar.
  • adjective Not appropriate or becoming; unseemly: synonym: unseemly.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not decent.
  • Grossly vulgar; offensive to modesty; obscene; lewd.
  • Synonyms Indelicate, indecorous, immodest, gross, shameful, impure, filthy, obscene, nasty.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not decent; unfit to be seen or heard; offensive to modesty and delicacy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective offensive to good taste
  • adjective not in keeping with conventional moral values; improper, immodest or unseemly

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective offensive to good taste especially in sexual matters
  • adjective offending against sexual mores in conduct or appearance
  • adjective not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • He wants only traditional Persian or classical Western music on the government airways, not what he calls indecent, obscene Western music.

    CNN Transcript Feb 2, 2006 2006

  • He wants only traditional Persian or classical Western music on the government airways, not what he calls indecent, obscene Western music.

    CNN Transcript Feb 1, 2006 2006

  • Attacks on children, for instance, were often classified as indecent assault, not rape - even though the young are often targeted because of the mistaken belief that sex with a child can rid the body of the HIV virus.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2007

  • I know not any comment that can be made seriously on this curious passage, and I could produce many similar ones; and some, so very sentimental, that I have heard rational men use the word indecent, when they mentioned them with disgust.

    A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 2002

  • I know not any comment that can be made seriously on this curious passage, and I could produce many similar ones; and some, so very sentimental, that I have heard rational men use the word indecent, when they mentioned them with disgust.

    A vindication of the rights of woman 1892

  • I know not any comment that can be made seriously on this curious passage, and I could produce many similar ones; and some, so very sentimental, that I have heard rational men use the word indecent, when they mentioned them with disgust. 72

    Chap. V 1792

  • However, I am sure that there are chants at the Emirates almost every match which could be described as "indecent" - it perhaps depends on your expectations of the atmosphere, your sense of humour and the thickness of your skin.

    Soccer Blogs - latest posts 2009

  • "Programming replete with one-word indecent expletives will tend to produce children" who use them, Justice Scalia wrote.

    Court Backs Fines for On-Air Expletives 2009

  • Lubna al Hussain could face up to a month in jail because of what the morality police called indecent clothing.

    CNN Transcript Sep 7, 2009 2009

  • Facecat: flashing a breast indecently in public is called indecent exposure.

    Under The Blanket 2008

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