X-rated

adjective

ˈeks-ˈrā-təd How to pronounce X-rated (audio)
Definition of X-ratednext
1
as in pornographic
dealing in or with explicitly sexual material for his comedy-club performances the stand-up comic's routines are definitely X-rated

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society the jerk should have known better than to tell an X-rated joke at a company function

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of X-rated For the first seven years of the rating system (1969-1975), nearly half of the top films (33 of 70) were R- or X-rated. — Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 26 July 2024 What audiences see are silhouettes engaged in a shadow play of entwined hands and arched backs, sensual but not X-rated. — Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 Granted, none of these are X-rated, but one of my concerns is that the intensity of this online relationship has grown quite exponentially in a very short time and could very well lead to actual X-rated. — Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024 Keep the red boost light on with your right foot and the Riviera will eventually peak out at 105 mph, although the speedometer is X-rated above 85. — Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for X-rated
  1. adult
  2. obscene
  3. erotic
  4. vulgar
Adjective
  • Why 'Shrinking' Is a Parents-Only Watch The themes, relationships, and conversations in this show are primarily adult in nature.
    — Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 27 Feb. 2025
  • The next decades will witness, for the first time, the full impact of one-child families on adult Chinese society.
    — Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Definition of adult
Adjective
  • Taken by the apparent deterioration of his health, users made those clips go viral and eventually adapted the money spread into a mini-dance trend where users bop to the song before flaunting an obscene amount of cash (or weed baggies or fishing lures!).
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 19 Mar. 2025
  • But there are more visible and indecent »Paris Game« leftovers: the enormous/obscene sportsbook ads on display at every other métro station.
    — Eduardo Tansley, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Definition of obscene
Adjective
  • Mankind’s dilemma comes across powerfully in the erotic conflict between Jony and Jane.
    — Armond White, National Review, 14 Mar. 2025
  • This year, the final erotic frames were shot on the premises.
    — Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of erotic
Adjective
  • Over time, authorities also sidelined activities like sumo wrestling—considered vulgar by Westerners—in favor of baseball, boating, mountain climbing, and other activities popular in the West.
    — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Cornelius said that the superintendent later informed her of other prior incidents including her son — who has autism and is nonverbal — getting a shower without her permission, getting called vulgar names by staff and teachers, and receiving other inappropriate comments.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2025
Definition of vulgar

Browse Nearby Words

x (out)
X-rated
yacht
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Cite this Entry

“X-rated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/X-rated. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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