licentious means lacking restraint, or ignoring societal standards, particularly in sexual conduct; sexually unprincipled.
licentious is pronounced /laɪˈsɛn.ʃəs/.
Why “licentious” is a great word
Lacking moral restraint, especially in sexual conduct; disregarding accepted rules or standards. From Latin *licentiōsus* ("unrestrained"), from *licentia* ("freedom, license"), first recorded in English use 1525–35. Unlike "lascivious," which burns with a specific, lewd intent, or "libertine," which names the dissolute person, licentious describes the broader character of the act or the life: a principled disregard for principle. It is the cynical smirk at a broken vow, the nobleman who treats the servants' quarters as his hunting ground, the quiet erosion of decorum that leaves behind not passion, but a hollow, sticky air—the weary recognition that some freedoms are merely forms of decay.
Etymology
From Latin licentiōsus, from licentia (“license, freedom”).
adj
- Lacking restraint, or ignoring societal standards, particularly in sexual conduct; sexually unprincipled.e.g.“His eyes trailed over her feline pose on the sofa, finding her limbs adorable while he tried exasperatedly to extract the truth of licentious revelations from them.”
- Disregarding accepted rules.
Words closest in meaning
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