Meaning & use
lurid
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noundisapproving
Told in a shocking way, with gruesome or scandalous details meant to thrill.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: lurid details.
The newspaper printed lurid details of the crime.
He told lurid stories about life backstage.
The film's lurid plot relied on shock rather than sense.
adjectivecomparable
Glaringly bright in a way that looks harsh or unnatural.
Grammar: Describes colors or light: a lurid green.
She painted the room a lurid orange.
The neon sign cast a lurid glow over the street.
The sky turned a lurid purple before the storm.
Word forms
| comparative | more lurid |
|---|---|
| superlative | most lurid |
Common combinations
- lurid details
- The report was full of lurid details.
- lurid headlines
- Lurid headlines screamed from the newsstand.
- lurid colors
- The poster used lurid colors to grab attention.
- a lurid tale
- He loved a lurid tale of ghosts and murders.
- lurid glow
- A lurid glow lit the sky above the factory.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensational
- Sensational can be neutral or even positive, while lurid is clearly critical of tastelessness.
- garish
- Garish is about ugly, overly bright decoration and color, and it does not apply to gruesome details.
- gruesome
- Gruesome describes the horror itself, whereas lurid describes the shocking way it is presented.
- gaudy
- Gaudy is used for showy, cheap-looking objects, and it lacks lurid's link to scandal.
Opposites
Word family
- luridly adverb
- in a shocking or glaring way
- luridness noun
- the quality of being lurid
Commonly confused: lurid or lured?
lurid vs lured
Lured is the past tense of lure, to tempt, and it sounds similar but means something different.
Practice
The tabloid was criticized for its ___ account of the scandal.
Choose one answer.
Lurid fits a shockingly sensational account. Lucid means clear and easy to understand, which is a tempting sound-alike but the opposite of the criticism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lurid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.