| 释义 |
obscene, a.|əbˈsiːn|
[ad. L. obscēnus, obscænus adverse, inauspicious, ill-omened; transf. abominable, disgusting, filthy, indecent: of doubtful etymology. Perh. immed. after F. obscène (1560 in Godef. Compl.).]
1. Offensive to the senses, or to taste or refinement; disgusting, repulsive, filthy, foul, abominable, loathsome.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 131 That in a Christian Climate, Soules refin'de Should shew so heynous, black, obscene a deed. 1664H. More Myst. Iniq. ii. 5 Sorcerers..are shut with obscene Dogs out of the holy City. 1725Pope Odyss. xx. 263 In rags obscene decreed to roam. 1845A. Jameson Mem. Early It. Paint. II. 13 Hideous reptiles, as adders, lizards, toads,..and other crawling and flying obscene and obnoxious things. 1869Ruskin Q. of Air iii. 178 The bright Wandel, divine of waters as Castaly, is filled..with old shoes, obscene crockery, and ashes. 1875‘Mark Twain’ Sk. New & Old 148 The obscene Tumble-Bug. 1915A. Huxley Let. 1 Feb. (1969) 65 Practically speaking, Sligger and myself are the only two possible people left alive in Oxford; even the few possibilities of last term have now vanished, leaving only a sort of obscene riff-raff. 1923A. Bennett Riceyman Steps i. x. 44 The three-story houses (with areas and basements) were all alike... The fronts of the door-steps were green with vegetable growth... The areas, except one or two, were obscene. The Square..was merely decrepit, foul and slatternly. 1936‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death i. 7 The shop windows, too, are piled with that diversity of obscene knick-knacks which nothing but the spirit of universal goodwill could surely tolerate. 1974‘J. Graham’ Bloody Passage i. 19 Vietnam was the most obscene episode of the century. 1974Greenville (S. Carolina) News 23 Apr. 1/8 Energy officials have already predicted that first-quarter oil profits will be ‘embarrassingly high’ or ‘whoppers’. Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., has said they'll be ‘almost obscene’. 1974Observer 1 Sept. 1/7 The result..was another defeat for the image of football. In six hours of running skirmishes, 55 people were arrested; but what was particularly obscene was the mindlessness of the 3,000 or 4,000 youths who took part. 1977Time 19 Dec. 19/2 Something in the very robustness of Germany's economy seemed to the terrorists and their sympathizers profoundly obscene.
2. Offensive to modesty or decency; expressing or suggesting unchaste or lustful ideas; impure, indecent, lewd. † obscene parts, privy parts (obs.).
1598Marston Pygmal. xxxviii. 133 Be not obsceane though wanton in thy rimes. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 102 [He] lets his tongue loose to obscene and filthy Communication. 1667Milton P.L. i. 405 Chemos, th' obscene dread of Moabs Sons. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 39 On the Walls..were obscene Images. 1724Watts Logic i. iv. §3 Words that were once chaste, by frequent use grow obscene and uncleanly. 1725Pope Odyss. xii. 115 Her [Scylla's] parts obscene the raging billows hide. 1825Macaulay Ess., Milton (1851) I. 13 The rabble of Comus..reeling in obscene dances. 1899Athenæum 14 Apr. 475/2 Our later writers are saucy rather than obscene. 1959Act 7 & 8 Eliz. II c. 66 §1 An article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect..is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely..to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it. 1964Daily Tel. 11 Dec. 26/2 Appeal Court judges ruled..that not only sex, but drug addiction, made a book obscene and depraved. 1972N.Y. Law Jrnl. 31 Oct. 14/9 U.S.A. v. Various Articles of Obscene Merchandise.
†3. Ill-omened, inauspicious. (A Latinism.) Obs.
1635–56Cowley Davideis ii. 818 The trembling Serpents close and silent lye The Birds obscene far from his Passage fly. 1833–6J. Eagles Sketcher (1856) 170 Evil-boding fowl, and bats obscene. |