prurience

noun

pru·​ri·​ence ˈpru̇r-ē-ən(t)s How to pronounce prurience (audio)
: the quality or state of being prurient

Examples of prurience in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Mike White slickly disintegrates American family and friend relations — using flashy prurience but no analysis. Armond White, National Review, 9 Apr. 2025 Their psychic life is not pried with pity or prurience; their paralysis or tragic humility is not mined for metaphor. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 16 July 2024 These actors’ television fame adds a whisper of remembered prurience here, a flavor of kitsch there. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2023 But there is more than prurience or even provocation at work here. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023 See All Example Sentences for prurience

Word History

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prurience was in 1781

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Cite this Entry

“Prurience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prurience. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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