obscenity

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

obscenity (əbˈsɛnɪtɪ)

—n , pl -ties
1.	the state or quality of being obscene
2.	an obscene act, statement, word, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

obscenity

c.1600, "obscene quality," from L. obscenitas, from obscenus (see obscene). Meaning "a foul or loathsome act" is 1610s. Sense of "an obscene utterance or word" is attested by 1690. Related: Obscenities.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

obscenity definition

Behavior, appearance, or expression (such as films and books) that violate accepted standards of sexual morality. American courts have long tried to define obscenity but without much success. Some believe, for example, that any depiction of nudity is obscene; others would argue that nudity in itself is not obscene. (See four-letter words and pornography.)

Example sentences

It's as if success is a corollary of obscenity: you know it when you see it.

Obscenity is the final layer to peel away when discussing protected speech.

One may also argue-less persuasively, in my view-against protecting certain

forms of public obscenity and defamatory statements.

It really is the best way to remember the obscenity of war and to honor the

dead.

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freedom of the press indecency profanity rough stuff skulduggery smut

Matching Quote

"Pornography is not objectionable simply because it arouses sexual desire or lust or prurience in the mind of the reader or spectator; this is a silly Victorian notion. A great many nonpornographic works—including some parts of the Bible—excite sexual desire very successfully. What is distinctive about pornography is that, in the words of D.H. Lawrence, it attempts "to do dirt on [sex].... [It is an] insult to a vital human relationship." In other words, pornography differs from erotic art in that its whole purpose is to treat human beings obscenely, to deprive human beings of their specifically human dimension. That is what obscenity is all about. It is light years removed from any kind of carefree sensuality—there is no continuum between Fielding's Tom Jones and the Marquis de Sade's Justine. These works have quite opposite intentions."

-Irving Kristol