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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

lurid en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈlɔːɹɪd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈl(j)ʊə.ɹɪd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈlʊɹɪd/ (General-American)
  • /ˈlʉːɹɪd/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
  • /ˈluːɹɪd/ (Ireland)
  • /ˈlɝɪd/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *loiros Latin lūror Latin lūridusbor. English lurid Borrowed from Latin lūridus (“pale yellow, wan”).

Meanings

  1. Pruriently detailed and sensationalistic about something shocking or horrifying, especially with regard to violence or sex.
    • 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. 2021 May 22, Dalya Alberge, “John Steinbeck’s estate urged to let the world read his shunned werewolf novel”, in The Observer:
  2. Melodramatic.
  3. Ghastly, pale, wan in appearance.
    • Fierce o'er their beauty blazed the lurid flame; 1729, James Thomson, Britannia:
    • Wrapt in drifts of lurid smoke / On the misty river-tide. 1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Maud”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 86:
    • 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. 1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “Corridors of Peril”, in The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., September 1918, →OCLC, page 85:
  4. Being of a light yellow hue.
    • The lurid lighting of the bar made for a very hazy atmosphere.
  5. Having a brown colour tinged with red.
    • a lurid plant with maroon leaves and pink flowers 1976, Ethnology:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most lurid Degree=Sup lexicographic
more lurid Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Deriveds

luridity · luridness · luridly

Translations (54)

es pálido (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · da chokerende (shocking, horrifying) · bg страшен (shocking, horrifying) · it raccapricciante (shocking, horrifying) · cs sinalý (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · es espantoso (shocking, horrifying) · it sensazionalistico (shocking, horrifying) · cmn 骇人 (shocking, horrifying) · de grell (being of a light yellow hue) · it giallastro (being of a light yellow hue) · it spettrale (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fr blafard (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · it livido (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · cs šokující (shocking, horrifying) · ru ме́ртвенно-бле́дный (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · da uhyggelig (shocking, horrifying) · ru бле́дный (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · cs nechutný (shocking, horrifying) · it giallo livido (being of a light yellow hue) · hu sápadt (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fi kaamea (shocking, horrifying) · fr jaunâtre (being of a light yellow hue) · fr livide (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · pt lúrido (being of a light yellow hue) · de widerlich (shocking, horrifying) · it sinistro (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · es chocante (shocking, horrifying) · es lívido (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fi kammottava (shocking, horrifying) · fr blême (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · it cadaverico (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · it lugubre (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fi kauhistuttava (shocking, horrifying) · mi wetiweti (shocking, horrifying) · bg смъртнобледен (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · it spaventoso (shocking, horrifying) · it pallido (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · pt espantoso (shocking, horrifying) · it agghiacciante (shocking, horrifying) · nl luguber (shocking, horrifying) · ru ужа́сный (shocking, horrifying) · it giallo pallido (being of a light yellow hue) · it scandalistico (shocking, horrifying) · pt lúrido (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · ru стра́шный (shocking, horrifying) · cs smrtelně bledý (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fr choquant (shocking, horrifying) · it orrendo (shocking, horrifying) · fi kelmeä (ghastly, pale or wan in appearance) · fi kelmeä (being of a light yellow hue) · fi kauhea (shocking, horrifying) · cmn 骇人听闻 (shocking, horrifying) · bg зловещ (shocking, horrifying) · ru желтова́тый (being of a light yellow hue)