bawdy

B3A1W4D2Y4
UK/ˈbɔːdi/US/ˈbɔ.di/cot caught merger/ˈbɑ.di/

adjective

Obscene; filthy; unchaste.

UncommonFirst used 15th CenturyScrabble 14

Meanings

adjectivebawdy (comparative bawdier or more bawdy, superlative bawdiest or most bawdy)

comparative bawdier · comparative more bawdy · superlative bawdiest · superlative most bawdy

  1. Obscene; filthy; unchaste.First known use 15th Century
  2. Sexual in nature and usually meant to be humorous but considered rude; ribald.
nounbawdy (plural bawdies)

plural bawdies

  1. A bawdy or lewd person.

    The Bawdies were girls who danced naked on a ramp in the middle of a room full of tables with tops the size of pie plates.

    1983, Richard Hoyt, The Siskiyou Two-step, page 78
    1 more example

    Our scholarly studies and discoveries about bodies and bawdies and the forbidden mysteries of S-E-X proved that participatory education had to be the very best.

    2001, Bill Rinaldi, You Can If You Think You Can: The Power of Thinking Big, page 37

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehumorously vulgar

nounlewd or obscene talk or writing

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰóltos
  3. Proto-Germanic*balþaz
  4. Frankish*balþ
  5. Old Frenchbaud
  6. Middle Englishbawde
  7. Englishbawd
  8. Englishbawdy

From bawd + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неприличен, нецензурен
  • неприличен (nepriličen)obscene
  • нецензурен (necenzuren)obscene
Chinese Mandarin 猥褻的 /猥亵的, 下流的
  • 猥褻的 /猥亵的 (wěixiè de)obscene
  • 下流的 (xiàliú de)obscene
  • 淫穢的 /淫秽的 (yínhuì de)obscene
Czech necudný, lascivní
  • necudnýobscene
  • lascivníobscene
Danish uanstændig, sjofel
  • uanstændigobscene
  • sjofelobscene
Dutch obsceen, onkuis
  • obsceenobscene
  • onkuisobscene
Finnish rivo
  • rivoobscene
French grivois, paillard
  • grivoisobscene
  • paillardobscene
German unanständig
  • unanständigobscene
Greek αισχρός, άσεμνος
  • αισχρός (aischrós)obscene
  • άσεμνος (ásemnos)obscene
Māori mōtekoteko, takao
  • mōtekotekoobscene
  • takaoobscene
Polish sprośny, obleśny
  • sprośnyobscene
  • obleśnyobscene
  • obscenicznyobscene
Romanian obscen
  • obscenobscene
Spanish guarro, sucio
  • guarroobscene
  • sucioobscene
  • lascivoobscene
Swedish oanständig
  • oanständigobscene
Ukrainian непристойний, розпусний
  • непристойний (neprystojnyj)obscene
  • розпусний (rozpusnyj)obscene

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bawdy

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

body (cot–caught merger)body (cot–caught merger)
Cite this entry
APA

bawdy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bawdy

MLA

“bawdy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bawdy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bawdy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bawdy.

Source: bawdy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.