prurient

adjective

pru·​ri·​ent ˈpru̇r-ē-ənt How to pronounce prurient (audio)
: marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome interest or desire
especially : marked by, arousing, or appealing to sexual desire
pruriently adverb

Examples of prurient in a Sentence

He took a prurient interest in her personal life. a book that appealed to the prurient curiosity of its readers
Recent Examples on the Web Sure, adultery is one of rock and roll’s many prurient flavors alongside cocaine abuse and devil worship; Fleetwood Mac didn’t sell over 40 million copies of Rumours by honoring the Ten Commandments. Vulture, 20 Oct. 2023 The commanding ambassador and his captivating wife, Violet, quickly develop a prurient familiarity with Elodie. Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023 Repeatedly, the documentary shows the young Brooke on TV talk shows, responding to prurient and judgmental questions with astonishing poise, grace and maturity. Rhonda Garelick, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2023 Still, a window into a famous person’s birth-to-death story may offer enormous and sometimes prurient satisfactions. Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 14 Dec. 2022 My existence is considered prurient, right? Abc News, ABC News, 8 Mar. 2023 Some of the prurient interest in these stories is rooted in their niche and fascinating settings: One story takes place in a knitting group, another in an all-gay men’s choir with a love triangle at its center, a third among coworkers in an escape room. Eliana Dockterman, Time, 13 Dec. 2022 The furor spurred Facebook to develop its first internal rule book for what users could and couldn’t post, drawing fine-grained, if somewhat arbitrary, distinctions to delineate between wholesome and prurient images, among other things. Will Oremus, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2022 Our interest is prurient but also limitless. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 16 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prurient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin prurient-, pruriens, present participle of prurire to itch, crave; akin to Latin pruna glowing coal, Sanskrit ploṣati he singes, and probably to Latin pruina hoarfrost — more at freeze

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prurient was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near prurient

Cite this Entry

“Prurient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prurient. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

prurient

adjective
pru·​ri·​ent ˈpru̇r-ē-ənt How to pronounce prurient (audio)
: having or revealing indecent desires or thoughts
pruriently adverb

Legal Definition

prurient

adjective
pru·​ri·​ent ˈpru̇r-ē-ənt How to pronounce prurient (audio)
: marked by or arousing an unwholesome sexual interest or desire
pruriently adverb

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