obscene

/əbˈsiːn/

//əbˈsiːn// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"obscene" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obscene” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,870. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,870
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Offensive to standards of decency or morality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obscene · obscene · English

obscene · rank #15,870 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #15,870
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH NYPD

Nearest frequency peer: NYPD (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “obscene”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “obscene” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

obscene vs obscure
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for obscene
PropertyValue
Headwordobscene
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əbˈsiːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,870
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “obscene” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).obscene lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around obscene (IPA /əbˈsiːn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,870 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for obscene, with forms such as "boscene", "obbscene", and "obcsene". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "obscure", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French obscene (modern French obscène (“indecent, obscene”)), and from its etymon Latin obscēnus, obscaenus (“inauspicious; ominous; disgusting, filthy; offensive, repulsive; indecent, lewd, obscene”). The further etymology is uncertain, but may… The correct English form is obscene, spelled O-B-S-C-E-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Offensive to standards of decency or morality.
  2. 2
    Lewd or lustful.
  3. 3
    Disgusting or repulsive.
  4. 4
    Beyond all reason; excessive.
  5. 5
    Liable to corrupt or deprave.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how obscene appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [...] I did incounter that obſeene and moſt prepoſterous euent that draweth frõ my ſnowhite pen the ebon coloured Incke, which here thou vieweſt, beholdeſt, ſuruayeſt, or ſeeſt. [...] There did I ſee that low ſpirited Swaine, [...] hight Coſtard, (Clow[ne]. O mee) ſorted and conſorted contrary to thy eſtabliſhed proclaymed Edict and continent Cannon; Whic…
  2. Neither do wee pleaſe them with their owne crimes, or obſcæne ſpectacles: whereas they celebrate both the guilt that there gods incurred who were men, and the fayned pleaſures of ſuch of them as were flat deuills.

Etymology

From Middle French obscene (modern French obscène (“indecent, obscene”)), and from its etymon Latin obscēnus, obscaenus (“inauspicious; ominous; disgusting, filthy; offensive, repulsive; indecent, lewd, obscene”). The further etymology is uncertain, but may be from ob- (prefix meaning ‘towards’) + caenum (“dirt, filth; mire, mud”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweyn- (“to make dirty, soil; filth; mud”)) or scaevus (“left, on the left side; clumsy; (figurative) unlucky”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂iwo-). If so, the unexpected extra -s- may be from a variant form of the original PIE root; a similar -s- exists in ex-.

Synonyms

adultbawdybluecheekydirtyindecentfilthygrossharlotimpureithyphalliclewdmuckynaughtynear the knuckleobsceneoff-colourracyraunchyribaldribaudredribaudrousrisquérortysalacioussaucyshockingsluttishslutlikesluttysmuttyspicytartishtartytrampyvulgar

Antonyms

chastedecentmoral

This word in other languages

obsceno(Español)obscène(Français)obszön(Deutsch)obsceno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boscene
  • obbscene
  • obcsene
  • obsccene
  • obsceen
  • obscenne
  • obscnee
  • obsecne
  • obsscene
  • osbcene

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obscene - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

boscene2obbscene1obcsene2obsccene1obsceen2obscenne1obscnee2obsecne2
Edit distance from "obscene"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obscene"?
"obscene" is spelled O-B-S-C-E-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əbˈsiːn/.
What does "obscene" mean?
As an adjective, "obscene" means: Offensive to standards of decency or morality.
What words are commonly confused with "obscene"?
"obscene" is commonly confused with "obscure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obscene"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obscene" is /əbˈsiːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "obscene"?
From Middle French obscene (modern French obscène (“indecent, obscene”)), and from its etymon Latin obscēnus, obscaenus (“inauspicious; ominous; disgusting, filthy; offensive, repulsive; indecent, lewd, obscene”). The further etymology is uncertai... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obscene", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

octopus#15,872ovarian#15,876Picasso#15,881pierced#15,882

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

martyr10 variantslooting10 variantsplight10 variantsleukemia10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "obscene". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "obscure". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #15,870 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list