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raunchy - 3 dictionary results

raun⋅chy

  [rawn-chee, rahn-]
Use raunchy in a Sentence
–adjective -chi⋅er, -chi⋅est. Informal.
1. vulgar or smutty; crude; earthy; obscene: a raunchy joke.
2. dirty; slovenly; grubby.
3. lecherous.
Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; orig. uncert.

Related forms:
raun⋅chi⋅ly, adverb
raun⋅chi⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To raunchy
raun·chy   (rôn'chē, rän'-)   
adj.   raun·chi·er, raun·chi·est Slang
    1. Obscene, lewd, or vulgar: "[He] uses language so aggressively raunchy that he seems to be insisting his choice of vocabulary, at least, is no sin" (Wall Street Journal).
    2. Sexually explicit.
    3. Exhibiting lust.
  2. Grimy; unkempt: a raunchy closet full of dirty socks.

[Origin unknown.]
raun'chi·ly adv., raun'chi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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raunchy 
1939, "clumsy, careless, sloppy," U.S. Army Air Corps slang, of unknown origin. Origins among cadets in Texas suggest possible connection to Mex.Sp. rancho (see ranch), which had connotations of animal filth by 1864. Sense of "coarse, vulgar, smutty" is from 1967. Raunch (n.) is a 1964 back-formation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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