Meaning & use
salacious
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Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Showing an excessive or inappropriate interest in sexual matters.
Grammar: Can be graded: more salacious, most salacious; it strongly suggests disapproval.
Patterns
- salacious details
- a salacious rumor
- salacious headlines
The article printed salacious details that added nothing to the story.
She refused to repeat the salacious rumor.
Critics called the film cheap and salacious.
Common combinations
- salacious gossip
- The magazine built its brand on salacious gossip about celebrities.
- salacious content
- The platform removed salacious content aimed at minors.
- salacious story
- Editors rejected the salacious story because it lacked evidence.
- salacious interest
- His salacious interest in other people's marriages made everyone uncomfortable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lurid
- Lurid emphasizes shocking, sensational detail; salacious emphasizes inappropriate sexual interest.
- lewd
- Lewd is often about crude behavior or words; salacious can describe stories, looks, or appetite for detail.
- sensational
- Sensational seeks excitement generally and is not always sexual; salacious specifically carries sexual disapproval.
Opposites
Word family
- salaciously adverb
- In a way that shows excessive sexual interest.
- salaciousness noun
- The quality of being salacious; less common than the adjective.
Commonly confused: salacious or salubrious?
salacious vs salubrious
Salubrious means healthy or wholesome, almost the opposite of salacious despite the similar spelling.
Practice
Which collocation is natural and keeps the disapproving meaning of salacious?
Choose one answer.
Salacious naturally modifies rumors and implies inappropriate sexual detail. Salubrious means healthful, so it fits gym or vegetables but not this disapproving sexual sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “salacious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.