licentious

adjective

li·​cen·​tious lī-ˈsen(t)-shəs 

1

: lacking legal or moral restraints

especially : disregarding sexual restraints

licentious behavior

licentious revelers

2

: marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness

licentiously adverb

licentiousness noun

Did you know?

The Shared Roots of License and Licentious

License and licentious come ultimately from the same word in Latin, licentia, whose meanings ranged from "freedom to act" to "unruly behavior, wantonness." The Latin noun was itself derived from the verb licere "to be permitted." Though we are likely to associate license with the card that grants freedom or permission to operate a motor vehicle and licentious with sexual wantonness, in actuality, there is considerable semantic overlap between the two words. Poetic license refers to deviation from a (usually) literary norm for some purposeful effect. A person who takes license with something (or someone) engages in "abusive disregard for rules of personal conduct." Hence, the semantic range of license in English mirrors that of its Latin antecedent, suggesting either permission or transgression, depending upon the context. Licentious, on the other hand, always implies excessive, transgressive freedom, as is true of its immediate Latin source, licentiosus "unrestrained, wanton" (literally, "full of freedom").

Synonyms

• concupiscent
• goatish
• horny
• hot
• hypersexual
• itchy
• lascivious
• lecherous
• lewd
• libidinous
• lubricious
• lubricous
• lustful
• oversexed
• passionate
• randy
• salacious
• satyric
• wanton

Examples of licentious in a Sentence

a moralist who decried what she regarded as the licentious and corrupt culture of the entertainment industry

Recent Examples on the Web

Whereas The Swimming-Pool Library transpires over one London summer — the last licentious gasp before AIDS— and The Line of Beauty spans the Thatcher era, Hollinghurst has lately been expanding his temporal horizons. —Sam Worley, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2024

Woodhull’s inability to counter the caricature of her as evil and licentious doomed her campaign. —Allison Lange / Made By History, TIME, 6 Aug. 2024

Qutb also offered Khamenei a perspective on the United States as something of a licentious society, ideas Qutb had picked up during his sojourn there in the late 1940s. —Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2013

And finally, modern far-right terrorists still frequently invoke the same libelous assertion that white women must be protected from licentious Black men. —TIME, 14 May 2024

With his passing Thursday morning at the age of 65, Variety looks at the most memorable moments of Shane MacGowan’s licentious legacy. —A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023

Freedom’s licentious behavior shocks many of her fellow villagers, who conclude that her bottle must have contained some powerful intoxicant. —Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2023

Ahmed is referring to the era in Tangier's history, beginning in the interwar period and peaking in the 1950s, when the city served as a licentious playground for a motley assortment of artists, socialites, and hedonists. —Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023

In fact, Protestantism emerged in the 1500s in no small part as a reaction to the licentious behavior of some pilgrims and priests, the selling of indulgences to enrich the church or various members of the clergy, and the corruption that was associated with many pilgrimages of the time. —James Mills, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Latin licentiosus, from licentia

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

licentious

adjective

li·​cen·​tious lī-ˈsen-chəs 

: marked by immoral or lawless behavior

licentiously adverb

licentiousness noun

Legal Definition

licentious

adjective

li·​cen·​tious lī-ˈsen-chəs 

: disregarding legal restraints especially with regard to sexual relations

arrested as a prostitute for licentious sexual intercourse

licentiously adverb

licentiousness noun