R-rated

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a motion picture, having an "R rating" from one more motion picture rating authorities, typically meaning it is suitable only for adults. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Of a motion picture, having an "R rating" from the Motion Picture Association (MPA), meaning it is suitable only for adults. US, not-comparable

    "In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay."

  3. 3
    Not suitable for children, especially due to involving excessive sexual, violent, or rude content broadly, not-comparable

    "A day’s notes are routinely R-rated. “Usually tense relationships are moderated by ritualized greetings and a genital grab,” she said."

Synonyms

All synonyms
adultfor adultsgrown-up

Example

More examples

"Tom wasn't allowed to watch R-rated movies until he was in middle school."

Etymology

From R + rated. The R-rating (short for restricted) is part of the rating scale used by the U.S. film rating authority Motion Picture Association (MPA) or similar rating scales used by authorities in some other countries.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.