dirty word

as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression I'm afraid I won't be much help on the trip—the only Spanish I know is a handful of dirty words

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples 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 dirty word Hot With a Vengeance, Sable Yong looks to understand why vanity is still such a dirty word in a culture so obsessed with beauty. Shannon Carlin, TIME, 27 June 2024 Nuance is a dirty word inside the Valley of the Stupid. Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2024 Still, governance in the Boehner era was not a dirty word, and the vast majority of new Republican members were receptive to it. Robert Draper, New York Times, 30 May 2024 Patriotism, a dirty word among Russian liberals only a few years before, was making a comeback, accompanied by various hues of Russian nationalism. Dmitri Trenin, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2016 See all Example Sentences for dirty word 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirty word
Noun
  • Stubborn independence is, however, a blessing and a curse.
    Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
  • However, this long history can be both a blessing and a curse.
    Mike Whitmire, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • The station asked the band not to include the swears.
    Kris Holt, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
  • There’s a heavy focus on Asia’s first One&Only spa, featuring a green caviar body exfoliation and an Augustinus Bader facial celebs swear by.
    Katie Lockhart, Robb Report, 11 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Use neutral, factual language to ensure the message remains honest and unbiased.
    Tina Gada, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Onto the page spilled more than ten thousand lines of the richest and most resourceful blank verse in the English language, arranged into ten books in 1667, then rearranged into twelve in 1674.
    Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near dirty word

Cite this Entry

“Dirty word.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirty%20word. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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