Ribaldry

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Joking or humorous language or behaviour used in a vulgar or lewd fashion. countable, uncountable

    "Playes are the nurseries of vice, the bawd, / That thorow the senses steales our hearts abroad, / Tainting our eares with obscæne bawdery, / Lascivious words, and wanton ribaulry."

  2. 2
    behavior or language bordering on indelicacy wordnet
  3. 3
    ribald humor wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
bad languagebalderdashbawdinessbawdrybillingsgateblue language

Example

More examples

"Playes are the nurseries of vice, the bawd, / That thorow the senses steales our hearts abroad, / Tainting our eares with obscæne bawdery, / Lascivious words, and wanton ribaulry."

Etymology

From Middle English ribaldrie, from Old French ribaulderie, ribauderie, equivalent to ribald + -ry.

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