Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Humorously coarse; lewd or risqué.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Dirty; filthy.
  • Obscene; lewd; indecent; unchaste.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Dirty; foul; -- said of clothes.
  • adjective Obscene; filthy; unchaste.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of language Sexual in nature and usually meant to be humorous but considered rude.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective humorously vulgar
  • noun lewd or obscene talk or writing

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

bawd +‎ -y.

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Examples

  • At first Roger had loved what he called her bawdy sense of humor and her sexuality.

    So Hard To Forget Crowe, Evelyn A 1997

  • This bibliography is an essential resource for those interested in bawdy songlore in English, French, German and a few other languages thrown in.

    Another Day in the Ketchup Mine 2005

  • Some called bawdy greetings to the Maiden, or stared around these once-forbidden precincts.

    Conan and The Mists of Door Green, Roland 1995

  • It's been described as bawdy — the heroine is a prostitute — but this novel of 19th-century England is about class, medicine, manners and hypocrisy.

    Historical British Novels Cynthia Crossen 2010

  • It's been described as bawdy — the heroine is a prostitute — but this novel of 19th-century England is about class, medicine, manners and hypocrisy.

    Historical British Novels Cynthia Crossen 2010

  • It's been described as bawdy — the heroine is a prostitute — but this novel of 19th-century England is about class, medicine, manners and hypocrisy.

    Historical British Novels Cynthia Crossen 2010

  • It's been described as bawdy — the heroine is a prostitute — but this novel of 19th-century England is about class, medicine, manners and hypocrisy.

    Historical British Novels Cynthia Crossen 2010

  • He was ready to talk about anything with anybody who shoved along; he had a fund of naughty tropical stories for the so-called bawdy section, and could be as sympathetic and pious as you please with a contrite youngster suffering from last night's debauch.

    South Wind Norman Douglas 1910

  • In another room the so-called bawdy section, presided over by the dubious Mr. Hopkins, were discussing topics not adapted to polite ears.

    South Wind Norman Douglas 1910

  • But she keeps an assembly, which, I believe, if you was to call a bawdy-house, you would not misname it.

    Amelia — Volume 3 Henry Fielding 1730

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