raunch

noun

ˈrȯnch How to pronounce raunch (audio)
ˈränch
Synonyms of raunchnext
: vulgarity, lewdness

Synonyms of raunch

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of raunch in a Sentence

a movie full of raunch the sheer raunch of the movie earned it a NC-17 rating
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If raunch is considered to be humiliating to women, that’s because raunch is about women being of service to men. — Constance Grady, Vox, 2 Mar. 2024 The episode also concludes the series itself, which routinely bounced between toe-curling raunch and a fierce sentimentality that sometimes clashed with its trademark cynicism. — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 5 May 2025 History of the World, Part 1 packs each scene with as many jokes as possible, including visual gags, puns, pratfalls, a bit of raunch, big musical numbers, and plain ol’ absurdity. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Dec. 2025 Female viewers appear drawn by the romance and the toned bodies, of course, but also by the entirely consensual nature of the vigorous raunch, the desire for mutual pleasure between partners and the relative absence of macho toxicity. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for raunch

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from raunchy

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of raunch was in 1957

Rhymes for raunch

See All Rhymes for raunch

Browse Nearby Words

raun
raunch
raunchy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Raunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raunch. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All