Lust: A Dictionary for the Insatiable Read online

  hot-blooded

  (HOT-BLUHD-id)

  ADJECTIVE: Passionate; adventuresome.

  hot pants

  (hot pants)

  NOUN: Very strong sexual desire; very short and tight-fitting shorts that became popular with women in the 1970s.

  the hots

  (thuh hotz)

  NOUN: Attraction; sexual desire.

  When I heard the Earth-song,

  I was no longer brave;

  My avarice cooled

  Like lust in the

  chill of the grave

  —RALPH WALDO EMERSON

  hunger

  (HUHNG-ger)

  NOUN: A strong desire or need; the word is most often used in reference to food.

  hunky

  (HUHNG-kee)

  ADJECTIVE: A handsome, sexy man.

  hussy

  (HUHS-ee)

  NOUN: An immoral or poorly behaved woman; trollop.

  After only three weeks, Janet had already acquired a reputation as a brazen HUSSY by all the housewives in the upper-class neighborhood.

  I

  immodest

  (ih-MOD-ist)

  ADJECTIVE: Not showing modesty in one’s behavior; shameless.

  immoral

  (ih-MAWR-uhl)

  NOUN: A manner that goes against socially accepted morals; depravity.

  Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was impeached as a direct result of his promiscuous and IMMORAL actions while in the White House.

  impassioned

  (im-PASH-uhnd)

  ADJECTIVE: Full of intense emotions; fervent.

  impotence

  (IM-puh-tuhns)

  NOUN: A male’s inability to perform or complete sexual intercourse; more generally, impotence refers to weakness.

  improbity

  (im-PROH-bi-tee)

  NOUN: Dishonesty or lack of a moral conscience.

  improper

  (im-PROP-er)

  ADJECTIVE: Inappropriate or incorrect; the term is most often used to describe one’s behavior or manners.

  impropriety

  (im-pruh-PRY-ih-tee)

  NOUN: Inappropriate behavior; indecency.

  impudicity

  (im-pyoo-DIS-ih-tee)

  NOUN: Lacking modesty or shame; immodesty.

  impure

  (im-PYOOR)

  ADJECTIVE: Contaminated with sin; polluted with a harmful or inferior substance.

  in flagrante delicto

  (in fluh-GRAN-tee di-LIK-toh)

  PHRASE: In the act or in the midst of sexual activity.

  inamorata

  (in-am-uh-RAH-tuh)

  NOUN: A female object of love and desire.

  incite

  (in-SYT)

  VERB: To stir up emotion or stimulate action; provoke.

  inclination

  (in-kluh-NAY-shuhn)

  NOUN: A particular disposition or preference; proclivity.

  incontinence

  (in-KON-tn-uhns)

  NOUN: The inability to control one’s sexual appetite.

  indecent

  (in-DEE-suhnt)

  ADJECTIVE: Inappropriate or unseemly; offensive.

  indelicate

  (in-DEL-ih-kit)

  ADJECTIVE: Lacking delicacy of language; tactless or crude.

  indiscreet

  (in-di-SKREET)

  ADJECTIVE: Lacking discretion or good judgment; imprudent.

  indiscriminate

  (in-di-SKRIM-uh-nit)

  ADJECTIVE: Showing carelessness in one’s choices; arbitrary or haphazard.

  indulgent

  (in-DUHL-juhnt)

  ADJECTIVE: Being generous with the granting of someone’s wishes or desires, including your own.

  infatuation

  (in-fach-oo-AY-shuhn)

  NOUN: An extreme—but often fleeting—obsession with a person, thing, or activity; infatuation is also used in reference to the person or thing with which one is obsessed.

  The innocent schoolgirl quickly became INFATUATED with the brilliant and attractive new professor.

  infidelity

  (in-fi-DEL-ih-tee)

  NOUN: Unfaithfulness or disloyalty to one’s significant other; to be less than in quality.

  The oftener seen,

  the more I lust.

  —BARNABE GOOGE

  inflame

  (in-FLAYM)

  VERB: To arouse an intense emotion, such as jealousy, in someone; to further ignite an emotion that already exists.

  iniquitous

  (ih-NIK-wi-tuhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Sinful or immoral; wicked.

  innuendo

  (in-yoo-EN-doh)

  NOUN: A subtle hint or suggestion by way of a seemingly innocuous remark; an insinuation.

  insatiable

  (in-SAY-shuh-buhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Incapable of being satisfied or appeased; unquenchable.

  In that moment, the INSATIABLE thirst of the vampire was fully realized, and his victim’s blood-curdling scream could be heard for miles around.

  inseparable

  (in-SEP-er-uh-buhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Unable to be separated.

  insinuate

  (in-SIN-yoo-yet)

  VERB: To hint at or imply something negative; to slowly ingratiate oneself.

  intemperance

  (in-TEM-per-uhns)

  NOUN: A lack of self-restraint; the satisfaction of a hedonistic desire.

  intercourse

  (IN-ter-kawrs)

  NOUN: An exchange between two or more people; sexual intercourse refers to the act of lovemaking.

  intimacy

  (IN-tuh-muh-see)

  NOUN: The closeness that exists between two people in a personal relationship; in a less formal way, can be used in reference to a sexual relationship.

  inveigle

  (in-VAY-guhl)

  VERB: To convince someone to act in a way not typical to his or her behavior through charm or flattery; beguile.

  itch

  (ich)

  NOUN: A desire for something; a sensation that forces one to scratch.

  ithyphallic

  (ith-uh-FAL-ik)

  ADJECTIVE: The depiction of an erect penis in a piece of art.

  Reportedly, the museum refused to allow the ITHYPHALLIC work to be displayed in the main gallery out of fear that it was not appropriate for all viewers.

  J and K

  Jezebel

  (JEZ-uh-bel)

  NOUN: A wicked, scheming woman; the wicked Tyrean princess who married King Ahab in the Bible.

  John

  (jon)

  NOUN: A man who solicits a prostitute.

  jump (someone’s) bones

  (juhmp SUHM-wuhnz bohnz)

  VERB: To engage in sexual intercourse with a person.

  Kama Sutra

  (KOM-uh SOO-truh)

  NOUN: An ancient Sanskrit text that provides information on sexual behavior and techniques.

  kink

  (kingk)

  NOUN: An odd interest or proclivity, especially in relation to sexual desires; a twist or tangle in something that is otherwise straight, like a rope or hose.

  kinky

  (KING-kee)

  ADJECTIVE: Possessing unconventional or peculiar sexual tastes.

  Henry thought he was sexually adventurous; however, after rendezvousing with Cynthia and getting a taste of her KINKY preferences, he realized he’s a little more vanilla than he thought.

  Kinsey scale

  (KIN-zee skayl)

  NOUN: A scale developed by American biologist Alfred Kinsey that rates a person’s sexuality from zero (exclusively heterosexual) to six (exclusively homosexual), with one to five indicating bisexuality.

  kiss

  (kis)

  VERB: To press one’s lips against another’s, usually in a show of affection.

  L

  ladies’ man

  (LAY-deez man)

  NOUN: A man who dates
a lot of women.

  ladykiller

  (LAY-dee-kil-er)

  NOUN: A man who women find irresistible; a ladies’ man.

  ladylove

  (LAY-dee-luhv)

  NOUN: A woman with whom a man is involved and in love.

  lascivious

  (luh-SIV-see-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Lustful or lewd; displaying an inappropriate interest in sex.

  laxity

  (LAK-si-tee)

  NOUN: Not being strict or careful; careless.

  lead on

  (leed on)

  VERB: To mislead or deceive someone.

  lecher

  (LECH-er)

  NOUN: A man who behaves in an inappropriately lustful or salacious manner.

  lewd

  (lood)

  ADJECTIVE: Obscene or indecent.

  liaison

  (lee-ay-ZAWN)

  NOUN: An illicit sexual relationship.

  The couple’s sexual LIAISON is as risky as it is steamy, as they must plan behind their married partners’ backs in order to meet for their trysts.

  libertine

  (LIB-er-teen)

  NOUN: Most often used in reference to a man, a libertine is one who engages in immorality and promiscuity.

  libido

  (li-BEE-doh)

  NOUN: Sex drive.

  licentious

  (ly-SEN-shuhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Showing no restraint in the pursuit of pleasure—particularly that of a sexual nature—with no regard to morals; shameless.

  liking

  (LY-king)

  NOUN: A fondness or tendency toward a particular thing or person; a feeling of pleasantness.

  Lauren has taken a serious LIKING to her husband’s revived sex drive; the two can hardly keep their hands off each other.

  liquorish

  (LIK-er-ish)

  ADJECTIVE: Constantly thinking about or trying to pursue sexual relationships.

  Lolita

  (loh-LEE-tuh)

  NOUN: From the Vladimir Nabokov novel of the same name, a Lolita is a young girl who attracts sexual desire from older men.

  I have known a number of Don Juans who were good studs and who cavorted between the sheets without a psychiatrist to guide them. But most of the busy love-makers I knew were looking for masculinity rather than practicing it. They were fellows of dubious lust.

  —BEN HECHT

  longing

  (LAWNG-ing)

  NOUN: A strong desire for a person or thing; yearning.

  loose

  (loos)

  ADJECTIVE: In a more general sense, it describes something that does not fit tightly; in reference to sexual relationships, it describes someone who is promiscuous or has many sexual partners, often choosing them indiscriminately.

  Lothario

  (loh-THAYR-ee-oh)

  NOUN: A man who is constantly trying to seduce women.

  lovemaking

  (LUHV-may-king)

  NOUN: Sexual intercourse.

  Sex is no longer just sex for the pair as their emotional involvement heightens the intimacy and turns it into LOVEMAKING.

  lover

  (LUHV-er)

  NOUN: One who engages in sexual intercourse with another.

  loverlike

  (LUHV-er)

  ADJECTIVE: Behavior that would be in the manner of a lover.

  lubricant

  (LOO-bri-kuhnt)

  NOUN: A substance or material that helps to reduce friction between two moving parts.

  lubricous

  (LOO-bri-kuhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Salacious or sexually exciting; slippery, as if something has been lubricated.

  luscious

  (LUHSH-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Sexually and physically appealing; pleasingly rich or delicious.

  lure

  (loor)

  VERB: To tempt or entice someone to go somewhere or do something with the promise of a pleasurable reward.

  lustful

  (LUHST-fuhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Full of feelings of sexual desire; licentious.

  With a LUSTFUL passion, the young woman entered into a long embrace with her separated lover as soon as he stepped off of the train.

  luxuria

  (LUHK-shuh-ree-ah)

  NOUN: Another word for lust, luxuria is an unrestrained sexual desire.

  M

  magnetism

  (MAG-ni-tiz-uhm)

  NOUN: A strong attractiveness in someone that draws others to him or her.

  masturbate

  (MAS-ter-bayt)

  VERB: To find sexual gratification without a partner through the stimulation of one’s own genitalia.

  mate

  (mayt)

  VERB: To engage in sexual relations, typically with the purpose of procreation. As a noun, a mate can refer to one’s lover or significant other.

  ménage à trois

  (may-NAHZH ah trwah)

  NOUN: A sexual interlude between three people.

  Not one to temper his sinful urges, the playboy decided he would not choose between the two women, but, instead, the three would have a MÉNAGE À TROIS.

  minx

  (mingks)

  NOUN: A flirtatious or promiscuous woman.

  The human spirit sublimates

  the impulses it thwarts:

  a healthy sex life mitigates

  the lust for other sports.

  —PIET HEIN

  mistress

  (MIS-tris)

  NOUN: The female lover of a man who is not his wife; the term mistress often implies that the extramarital affair is a long-term or ongoing one.

  monogamy

  (muh-NOG-uh-mee)

  NOUN: The commitment to either marry or date just one person at a time.

  Just because one subscribes to the single-partner restrictions of MONOGAMY does not mean all lustful desires have to be squelched—it just means they are focused on one person in particular.

  multiorgasmic

  (MUHL-tee-AWR-gaz-mik)

  ADJECTIVE: Feeling more than one orgasm—usually one right after the other—in a single sexual encounter.

  N

  naked

  (NAY-kid)

  ADJECTIVE: To be without clothes; nude.

  naughty

  (NAW-tee)

  ADJECTIVE: Playfully misbehaved; sinful.

  necking

  (NEK-ing)

  NOUN: To kiss or caress in an amorous manner while fully clothed.

  negligee

  (neg-li-ZHAY)

  NOUN: A woman’s dressing gown, usually worn loose and made from a soft or sheer fabric.

  nestle

  (NES-uhl)

  VERB: To position oneself in a comfortable position as close to another’s body as possible.

  Lying in bed after spending the afternoon reveling in carnal pleasure, Katherine NESTLED against her partner for a postcoital sleep.

  Sodom and Madonna-ism are two halves of the same movement, the mere tick-tack of lust and ascetism, piety and pornography.

  —D. H. LAWRENCE

  nibble

  (NIB-uhl)

  VERB: To bite gently or playfully.

  nipple

  (NIP-uhl)

  NOUN: A small projection near the center of the breast; considered an erogenous zone.

  nocturnal emission

  (nok-TUR-nl ih-MISH-uhn)

  NOUN: Involuntary ejaculation during sleep, usually the result of an erotic dream.

  nookie

  (NOOK-ee)

  NOUN: Slang word for sexual intercourse.