racy
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (4)racier, raciest
- full of zest or vigor“a racy literary style”Synonyms: livelyOpposite spiritlessSimilar spirited
- marked by richness and fullness of flavor“a rich ruby port”“full-bodied wines”“a robust claret”“the robust flavor of fresh-brewed coffee”Synonyms: full-bodiedrichrobustOpposite tastelessSimilar tasty
- suggestive of sexual impropriety“a blue movie”“blue jokes”“he skips asterisks and gives you the gamy details”“a juicy scandal”“a naughty wink”“naughty words”“racy anecdotes”“a risque story”“spicy gossip”Synonyms: bluegamygameyjuicynaughtyrisquespicyOpposite unsexySimilar sexy
- designed or suitable for competing in a raceOpposite immobileSimilar mobile
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: From Race a tribe, family.
1. Having a strong flavor indicating origin; of distinct characteristic taste; tasting of the soil; hence, fresh; rich.
The racy wine, Late from the mellowing cask restored to light.— Alexander Pope
2. Hence: Exciting to the mental taste by a strong or distinctive character of thought or language; peculiar and piquant; fresh and lively; vigorous; spirited.
Our raciest, most idiomatic popular words.— Matthew Arnold
Burns's English, though not so racy as his Scotch, is generally correct.— Hartley Coleridge
The rich and racy humor of a natural converser fresh from the plow.— John Wilson
3. Somewhat suggestive of sexual themes; slightly improper; risqué.
Synonyms: Spicy; spirited; lively; smart; piquant; risqué. — Racy, Spicy. Racy refers primarily to that peculiar flavor which certain wines are supposed to derive from the soil in which the grapes were grown; and hence we call a style or production racy when it “smacks of the soil,” or has an uncommon degree of natural freshness and distinctiveness of thought and language. Spicy, when applied to style, has reference to a spirit and pungency added by art, seasoning the matter like a condiment. It does not, like racy, suggest native peculiarity. A spicy article in a magazine; a spicy retort. Racy in conversation; a racy remark.
Rich, racy verses, in which we The soil from which they come, taste, smell, and see.— Abraham Cowley
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors