lewd

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /lud/ UK /luːd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
crude and offensive in a sexual way

He was reprimanded for making lewd remarks.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · crude and offensive in a... obscene indecent crude salaciousbawdylascivious vulgar

Opposites

chaste decent modest pure wholesome

Word family

Forms lewdness

Derived forms lewdlylewdness

Simplified etymology

Lewd comes from Old English lǣwede, a word of unknown origin that meant “belonging to the laity” rather than the Church. In Middle English it came to mean “of the common people” and “vulgar,” then “worthless, vile, or evil,” before developing its modern sexual sense.

Etymology

From Old English lǣwede ('lay, not in holy orders'), later shifting through 'unlearned, vulgar' to 'coarse, indecent'. Of obscure ultimate origin.

lǣwede Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# lewd

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /lud/
**IPA (UK):** /luːd/

## Meanings
1. crude and offensive in a sexual way

## Examples
- He was reprimanded for making lewd remarks.

## Synonyms
- obscene
- indecent
- crude
- salacious
- bawdy
- lascivious
- vulgar

## Antonyms
- chaste
- decent
- modest
- pure
- wholesome

## Derived Forms
- lewdly
- lewdness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lǣwede

## Etymology
From Old English lǣwede ('lay, not in holy orders'), later shifting through 'unlearned, vulgar' to 'coarse, indecent'. Of obscure ultimate origin.

## AI Etymology
Lewd comes from Old English lǣwede ('lay, not in holy orders'), later shifting through 'unlearned, vulgar' to 'coarse, indecent'. Of obscure ultimate origin. The etymological trail includes Old English lǣwede. As an adjective, lewd means crude and offensive in a sexual way. The same family is visible in derived forms such as lewdly and lewdness. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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