gross implies extreme coarseness and insensitiveness.
gross eating habits
obscene applies to anything strongly repulsive to the sense of decency and propriety especially in sexual matters.
obscene language not allowed on the air
ribald applies to what is amusingly or picturesquely vulgar or irreverent or mildly indecent.
entertained the campers with ribald folk songs
Example Sentences
He was accused of making obscene phone calls. He made an obscene gesture at the driver who cut him off. The company's executives earn obscene salaries. He spends an obscene amount of money on clothes.
Recent Examples on the WebFor example, Baskervill wrote that Virginia law doesn't give her the specific authority to determine whether the books are obscene for minors. Ben Finley, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2022 For example, Baskervill wrote that Virginia law doesn't give her the specific authority to determine whether the books are obscene for minors. Ben Finley, ajc, 30 Aug. 2022 And subscription snack boxes keep my munchies at bay without my having to forage for the most obscene flavor of Combos at my local bodega or raid the BA test kitchen for pecan nubs left over from muffin recipe testing.Bon Appétit, 19 Apr. 2022 Cuzela implored the board to audit all of the district’s library books and get rid of those that are too obscene to be read aloud in public.NBC News, 2 Feb. 2022 On Saturday night, Jayapal called 911 to report that someone was outside her home using obscene language and may have fired a pellet gun, according to a probable cause statement from Seattle police obtained by King 5 News.Washington Post, 14 July 2022 The changes also abolished a provision prohibiting the use of obscene language on signs. John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2022 The Ukrainian Postal Service issued a stamp showing the soldier making an obscene gesture to the Russian cruiser Moskva, which sank in April.New York Times, 1 July 2022 Winker, during Sunday’s scrum, later got in the face of Nevin, voicing his anger over the situation, then made an obscene gesture to the Angel Stadium crowd on his way off the field after getting ejected. Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, "offensively indecent," borrowed from Latin obscēnus, obscaenus "ill-omened, unpropitious, evoking disgust, loathsome, indecent, lewd," of uncertain origin
Note: M. de Vaan (Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008), following a suggestion by Ernout and Meillet, connects obscaenus (if this was the earliest form) with scaevus "left, on the left-hand side, inauspicious," and proposes an original *ob-skai-no- "coming from the left, unpropitious," from Indo-European *skeh2i- "in shadow."