as in passionate
having a strong sexual desire
the salacious Greek god Pan is generally portrayed as having the legs, horns, and ears of a goat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example 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 salacious
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched this investigative-series umbrella in 2018, and each year the feed delivers four to six miniseries that generally hover around the border of the salacious and the journalistic.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2025
Lizza’s salacious dispatches may end up foreclosing Nuzzi’s future in journalism; The New York Times has reported that Vanity Fair is reviewing its ties to her.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Willie Bell Gibson's former students use words like salacious.
—Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Further discontentment also stemmed from Fennell’s general spearheading of the project, given her affinity for the salacious and the fact that the pic is not billed as a modern retelling.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for salacious
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2025
Lizza’s salacious dispatches may end up foreclosing Nuzzi’s future in journalism; The New York Times has reported that Vanity Fair is reviewing its ties to her.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
Willie Bell Gibson's former students use words like salacious.
—Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Further discontentment also stemmed from Fennell’s general spearheading of the project, given her affinity for the salacious and the fact that the pic is not billed as a modern retelling.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for salacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for salacious
Adjective
-
But the Seahawks and their passionate fans will take it; this title represents Seattle's second Super Bowl triumph and exacts a measure of revenge for the heart-wrenching, last-second defeat in Super Bowl 49.—
Jim Reineking,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Adler was a particularly passionate crusader against the scourge of child labor.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But the audience size showed that a hot musical act could attract a significant chunk of the audience already gathered to watch the game.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
At this stage in its evolution, the central star, the one that’s contracting down on its way to becoming a white dwarf, is only slightly hotter than the Sun is.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Initially arrested on multiple counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a victim between 12 and 16 years old, he was charged in January with two more counts, both charges of possession of child pornography, court records show.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Feb. 2026
-
One of them, Marcelino Olguin, also pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Salacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/salacious. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
