different between obscene vs scabrous

English

Etymology

From Middle French obscene (modern French obscène (“indecent, obscene”)), and from its etymon Latin obsc?nus, obscaenus (“inauspicious; ominous; disgusting, filthy; offensive, repulsive; indecent, lewd, obscene”). The further etymology is uncertain, but may be from ob- (prefix meaning ‘towards’) + caenum (“dirt, filth; mire, mud”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *?weyn- (“to make dirty, soil; filth; mud”)) or scaevus (“left, on the left side; clumsy; (figurative) unlucky”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skeh?iwo-).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?si?n/
• (General American) enPR: ?b-s?n?, IPA^(key): /?b?sin/
• Rhymes: -i?n
• Hyphenation: ob?scene

Adjective

obscene (comparative obscener or more obscene, superlative obscenest or most obscene) (see usage notes)

1. Offensive to current standards of decency or morality.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:obscene

   Antonyms: decent, moral, nonobscene
2. Lewd or lustful.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:obscene

   Antonyms: chaste, nonobscene, pure
3. Disgusting or repulsive.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:obscene

   Antonym: nonobscene
4. (by extension) Beyond all reason; excessive.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:excessive

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:moderate
5. (chiefly Britain, criminal law) Liable to corrupt or deprave.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:obscene

   Antonyms: decent, nonobscene

Usage notes

• The comparative form obscener and superlative form obscenest, though formed by valid rules for English, are less common than more obscene and most obscene.
• In criminal law, many jurisdictions distinguish between the terms obscene, indecent, and profane when regulating broadcasted content, with obscene typically being the most severe of the three categories.

Alternative forms

• obscæne (obsolete)

Derived terms

• nonobscene
• obscenely
• obsceneness (rare)
• obscenometer (humorous, obsolete)

Related terms

• obscenity
• obscenous (obsolete)
• obscenousness (obsolete)

Translations

References

Further reading

• obscenity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Latin

Adjective

obsc?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of obsc?nus

References

• obscene in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obscene in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obscene in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Romanian

Adjective

obscene f pl

1. feminine plural of obscen

English

Etymology

From Latin scaber (“scabrous, rough; scabby, mangy, itchy”) (from scab? (“to scratch, scrape, abrade”), from Proto-Indo-European *skab?- (“to scratch”)) + English -ous; compare French scabreux, Late Latin scabr?sus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?ske?b??s/, /?ska-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?skæb??s/, /?ske?-/
• Hyphenation: sca?brous

Adjective

scabrous (comparative more scabrous, superlative most scabrous)

1. Covered with scales or scabs; hence, very coarse or rough.

   Synonyms: scabby, scaly, scurfy; see also Thesaurus:scabby, Thesaurus:rough
2. (figuratively) Disgusting, repellent.

   Synonyms: repulsive, vile; see also Thesaurus:unpleasant
3. (figuratively) Of music, writing, etc.: lacking refinement; unmelodious, unmusical.

   Synonyms: harsh, rough; see also Thesaurus:cacophonous

   • 1693, John Dryden, “The Dedication”, in Juvenal; Persius; John Dryden, [William Congreve, and Nahum Tate], transl., The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], ?OCLC, page xxx:

     [A]s his Verse is ?cabrous, and hobbling, and his Words not every where well cho?en, the purity of Latin being more corrupted, than in the time of Juvenal, and con?equently of Horace, who writ when the Language was in the heighth of its perfection; ?o his diction is hard; his Figures are generally too bold and daring; and his Tropes, particularly his Metaphors, in?ufferably ?train'd.
4. (figuratively) Difficult, thorny, troublesome.
5. (figuratively, chiefly US) Covered with a crust of dirt or grime.

Derived terms

• scabrously
• scabrousness

Related terms

• scab
• scaberulous
• scabies

Translations

Further reading

• “scabrous”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.