What does salacious mean?
Salacious describes a strong interest in sexual, lewd, or scandalous subjects, and it can also characterize material that emphasizes such subjects. The term is often used for gossip, tabloid reporting, images, and stories that seem designed to attract attention through suggestive details or private revelations. It generally carries a negative or disapproving connotation, suggesting that the subject matter is indecent or excessively sensational rather than merely factual. In formal usage, salacious can describe either a person's appetite for such material or the material itself. Although it is related in meaning to lustful and lecherous, those words more directly emphasize sexual desire, while salacious often stresses a broader fascination with scandal and impropriety. The word is especially familiar in British and American English and is useful when discussing the boundary between informative journalism and sensationalism.
adjectiveEagerly interested in or characterized by scandalous, sexual, or lewd material. It can describe a person's curiosity about such subjects or the sensational and suggestive character of stories, images, or gossip.
- Eagerly interested in or characterized by sexual, lewd, or scandalous material.
- Having or displaying a strong, often excessive appetite for sensational or morally questionable subjects.
"The magazine was criticized for publishing salacious details about the politician's private life."
"The tabloid devoted most of its front page to salacious gossip about the celebrity couple."
"His salacious interest in the scandal made the interview more uncomfortable than informative."
Salacious is the formal word for material that promises scandal, sex, or gossip in equal measure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does salacious come from?
Salacious entered English in the early 17th century from Latin salacis, the genitive form of salax, meaning lewd, lustful, or prone to sexual indulgence. The Latin root is associated with salire, “to leap,” through a historical sense of lewdness or lustfulness. Related forms include salacity and cognates found in Romance languages, such as French salace and Spanish or Portuguese salaz.
Related word forms
How salacious is actually used
The word is formal and often critical in tone. It is commonly used of gossip, reporting, images, and other material regarded as indecent, sensational, or morally improper.
Easily confused with salacious
Salacious means lewd or focused on sexual or scandalous matters, whereas salient means important, noticeable, or prominent.