pornography

UK: /pɔː^rˈnɒgrəfi/ US: /pɔrˈnɑgrəfi/ ,(pôr nog′rə fē)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

por•nog•ra•phy /pɔrˈnɑgrəfi/   n. [uncountable]

1. writings, photographs, movies, etc., intended to arouse sexual excitement, esp. such materials considered as having little or no artistic merit:
   What constitutes pornography, some say, is in the eye of the beholder.

See -graph-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

por•nog•ra•phy  (pôr nog′rə fē), n. 

1. obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.

• Greek pornográph(os) writing about harlots (porno-, combining form of pórnē harlot + -graphos -graph) + -y³
• 1840–50;

por•no•graph•ic  (pôr′nə graf′ik), adj.  por′no•graph′i•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pornography / pɔːˈnɒɡrəfɪ/ noun

1. writings, pictures, films, etc, designed to stimulate sexual excitement
2. the production of such material

Sometimes (informal) shortened to: porn, porno Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek pornographos writing of harlots, from pornē a harlot + graphein to write

porˈnographer noun

pornographic / ˌpɔːnəˈɡræfɪk/ adjective

ˌpornoˈgraphically adverb