prurient
Meaning: Having or showing an excessive or unwholesome interest in sexual matters. Often used to criticise voyeuristic curiosity or titillating content.
Prurient is almost exclusively pejorative, implying that the interest in question is unhealthy, intrusive, or degrading. It appears frequently in media criticism, obscenity law, and cultural commentary — a prurient fascination with celebrity scandals, for instance. In legal contexts, particularly in obscenity cases, 'prurient interest' is a technical term used to determine whether material appeals primarily to base sexual curiosity. The word collocates with 'interest,' 'curiosity,' 'fascination,' and 'appetite.'
Examples
- The tabloid's coverage of the affair was criticised as prurient, offering salacious detail with no public interest justification. 该小报对这段婚外情的报道被批评为窥淫式的,提供了大量淫秽细节却无公共利益的正当理由。La cobertura del escándalo por parte del tabloide fue criticada como pruriente, ofreciendo detalles escabrosos sin justificación de interés público.そのタブロイド紙の不倫報道は、公益性の正当化なしに扇情的な詳細を提供したとして、好色的だと批判された。그 타블로이드의 불륜 보도는 공익적 정당성 없이 선정적인 세부 사항을 제공했다는 점에서 호색적이라는 비판을 받았다.
- The censor argued that the film's explicit scenes served a prurient rather than an artistic purpose. 审查员认为该电影的露骨场面服务于好色目的而非艺术目的。El censor argumentó que las escenas explícitas de la película servían a un propósito pruriente más que artístico.検閲官は、その映画の露骨なシーンは芸術的な目的ではなく好色的な目的に奉仕していると主張した。검열관은 그 영화의 노골적인 장면이 예술적 목적이 아닌 호색적 목적에 봉사한다고 주장했다.
- She dismissed the audience's prurient curiosity about the author's personal life, insisting that the work should speak for itself. 她对观众对作者私生活的猎奇好奇心不屑一顾,坚持认为作品本身应该说明一切。Ella desestimó la curiosidad pruriente del público sobre la vida personal de la autora, insistiendo en que la obra debía hablar por sí misma.彼女は著者の私生活に対する観客の好色的な好奇心を退け、作品そのものが語るべきだと主張した。그녀는 저자의 사생활에 대한 관객의 호색적 호기심을 일축하며, 작품 자체가 말하도록 해야 한다고 주장했다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: journalism, legal, academic
Tone: disapproving
Origin & History
From Latin pruriens, present participle of prurire (to itch, to long for). The sense of unhealthy sexual curiosity developed in English by the 17th century.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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