erotic

erotic — adjective

1. connected with the experience or expression of strong feelings of physical or ro

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with the experience or expression of strong feelings of physical or romantic love, especially when the focus is on the pleasure and beauty of sexual intimacy — for example, in a painting, a film, a photograph, or a piece of writing that aims to arouse those feelings in a tasteful way.

Example

The museum held a special exhibition of erotic art from ancient Japan.

collocation: erotic art

Roya described the novel's love scenes as erotic rather than crude.

be + erotic (predicative use)

Common collocations
  • erotic art
  • erotic literature
  • erotic film
  • erotic scene
  • erotic photography
  • erotic desire
  • erotic pleasure
  • erotic fantasy
  • erotic novel
Synonyms
  • sexual

    much broader; covers any subject connected with sex, not just feelings of pleasure in art or media

  • sexy

    informal, used for people, clothes, or looks; 'erotic' is more formal and often describes content rather than a person

  • sensual

    focuses on physical pleasure of the senses (touch, taste, smell) without necessarily being about sex

  • arousing

    more direct about the effect on the viewer/reader; less attached to artistic quality

Grammar Patterns

erotic + noun

be + erotic

Usage Note

Frequently used in contexts of art, literature, cinema, and photography where the intention is to show or suggest sexual feeling with a sense of beauty or emotional depth. Less common in everyday conversation about sexual attraction — speakers more often use 'sexy' for people or 'sexually explicit' for media. Distinguish from 'pornographic', which describes content created solely to cause sexual excitement, often with graphic detail and no artistic intent.

Common Mistakes

The magazine contained erotic photographs of naked adults.
The magazine contained pornographic photographs of naked adults.
'erotic' suggests an artistic or tasteful quality; 'pornographic' describes content made only to arouse, often with explicit detail.

Word family

  • erotica
    nounC1
  • erotically
    adverbC1
  • eroticism
    nounC1

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • highly erotic
  • mildly erotic
  • openly erotic
  • subtly erotic

Phrases

  • erotic in nature
  • border on the erotic