raunch

[rawnch, rahnch] / rɔntʃ, rɑntʃ /

NOUN

obscenity

Synonyms

STRONG

abomination affront atrocity bawdiness blight blueness coarseness curse dirt dirtiness evil filth filthiness foulness grossness immodesty impropriety impurity indecency indelicacy lewdness licentiousness lubricity offense outrage porn pornography profaneness profanity prurience ribaldry salacity scatology scurrility sleaze smut smuttiness swearword vileness vulgarity wrong

WEAK

X-rating dirty name dirty word four-letter word scurrilousness suggestiveness vulgarness

Antonyms

STRONG

blessing cleanliness compliment decency delight goodness happiness joy kindness modesty morality pleasantry purity right sterility tastefulness virtue

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If Hulu’s “Shoresy” is the poster child for successfully balancing raunch and heart, “Ted” is on the opposite end — crass and lazy.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026

Not to slight Hill, who co-produced the film and co-wrote the sharp, occasionally bloodletting screenplay with Barris, but, raunch aside, the film mostly has one man’s fingerprints all over it.

From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2023

Also like many genres, dembow must contend with its patriarchal past and present, but it’s too simple, too narrow-minded to reduce it to plain raunch or misogyny.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021

After all, she upstaged John C. Reilly in the man-child comedy “Step Brothers,” played the gentle rabbi on “Transparent” and spewed good-natured raunch in the “Bad Moms” franchise. 

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2021

This may be because we usually see these two cultures situated oppositionally: either raunch is a path of resistance away from conservative religiosity or vice versa.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2020