Word
obscene
Phoneticsob·scene, stress on the second syllable
US/ɑbˈsin/
UK/ɒbsˈiːn/
Definition
adj. extremely offensive or shocking, especially in a sexual way. It can also describe an amount of money that is much too large to be fair.
adj. offending against moral principles or standards of decency, particularly regarding sexual matters. Also used to describe something that is morally repugnant due to its excessive or disproportionate scale.
Examples
“The company paid its CEO an obscene amount of money.”
“The court had to decide whether the graphic images in the book were artistic or simply obscene.”
“While the legal definition of what is obscene varies by jurisdiction, most societies agree that certain depictions of violence cross a line into moral depravity.”
Examples
simple
“The company paid its CEO an obscene amount of money.”
contextual
“The court had to decide whether the graphic images in the book were artistic or simply obscene.”
complex
“While the legal definition of what is obscene varies by jurisdiction, most societies agree that certain depictions of violence cross a line into moral depravity.”
Usage
Often used to modify nouns like 'amount', 'wealth', or 'profit' to express strong disapproval of excess.
Real-World Examples
“BP’s quarterly profits have been labelled “obscene” after they hit an 18-year high of $8.46bn (£6.3bn), as the war in the Middle East drove up oil and gas prices.” “The court said the group had violated the country’s “legal and cultural norms” and called the performance “obscene and vulgar”.” “In September 2012, a newspaper in Egypt launched a campaign in response to obscene cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in the French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.” Etymology
From Middle French obscene (modern French obscène (“indecent, obscene”)), and from its etymon Latin obscēnus, obscaenus (“inauspicious; ominous; disgusting, filthy; offensive, repulsive; indecent, lewd, obscene”). The further etymology is uncertain, but may be from ob- (prefix meaning ‘towards’) + caenum (“dirt, filth; mire, mud”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱweyn- (“to make dirty, soil; filth; mud”)) or scaevus (“left, on the left side; clumsy; (figurative) unlucky”) (from Proto-Indo-European skeh₂iwo-). If so, the unexpected extra -s- may be from a variant form of the original PIE root; a similar -s- exists in ex-.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990EikenEikenTest in Practical English ProficiencyThe English proficiency test from the Eiken Foundation of Japan, widely taken by Japanese students. Grades run from 5 to 1, with Pre-1 and Pre-2 between them.Grade 1
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/obscene