lurid
/ˈlʊɹɪd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.73 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pruriently detailed and sensationalistic about something shocking or horrifying, especially with regard to violence or sex.
adj
adj
Ghastly, pale, wan in appearance.
Example Sentences
- "The accident was described with lurid detail."
- "Speculating on why publishers rejected it, he wonders whether it was deemed too lurid at the time, especially since Steinbeck was then an unknown author."
- "Fierce o'er their beauty blazed the lurid flame;"
- "Wrapt in drifts of lurid smoke / On the misty river-tide."
- "The great banths sniffed the unfamiliar odours, and then with a rush they broke past us with low growls, swarming across the gardens beneath the lurid light of the nearer moon."
- "The lurid lighting of the bar made for a very hazy atmosphere."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *loiros Latin lūror Latin lūridusbor. English lurid Borrowed from Latin lūridus (“pale yellow, wan”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlʊɹɪd/
- British English: /ˈl(j)ʊə.ɹɪd/
Inflected Forms
more lurid (comparative)
most lurid (superlative)