raunchy

UK/ˈɹɔːn(t)ʃi/US/ˈɹɔn(t)ʃi/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,621 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: raunchier, raunchiest

Raunchy means openly and coarsely sexual. A raunchy joke, raunchy lyrics, a raunchy performance.

It is cheerful rather than disapproving, which is what separates it from obscene: raunchy is what a comedian is called by people enjoying it. The word began as American forces slang meaning scruffy.

Definitions of raunchy

1adjectiveraunchyOpenly and coarsely sexual.C1
“The comedian's raunchy jokes were not suitable for a family audience.”

raunchy is a quality.

Where it comes from

Of unknown origin, first recorded as United States forces slang meaning grubby or shabby.

unknown. Originally U.S. Army Air Corps slang; origins among cadets in Texas suggest a possible connection to es-MX rancho (see ranch), which had connotations of animal filth by 1864.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

← Vocabulary

raunchy

UK/ˈɹɔːn(t)ʃi/US/ˈɹɔn(t)ʃi/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,621 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: raunchier, raunchiest

Raunchy means openly and coarsely sexual. A raunchy joke, raunchy lyrics, a raunchy performance.

It is cheerful rather than disapproving, which is what separates it from obscene: raunchy is what a comedian is called by people enjoying it. The word began as American forces slang meaning scruffy.

Definitions of raunchy

1adjectiveraunchyOpenly and coarsely sexual.C1
“The comedian's raunchy jokes were not suitable for a family audience.”

raunchy is a quality.

Where it comes from

Of unknown origin, first recorded as United States forces slang meaning grubby or shabby.

unknown. Originally U.S. Army Air Corps slang; origins among cadets in Texas suggest a possible connection to es-MX rancho (see ranch), which had connotations of animal filth by 1864.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA