lurid
lurid
Pronunciation
Phonetic Information for "Lurid"
The IPA phonetic spelling for the word "lurid" is /ˈlʊrɪd/.
Syllable Breakdown
First Syllable: /ˈlʊr/
/l/: The sound as in "light" (voiced alveolar lateral approximant).
/ʊ/: The vowel sound as in "put" (near-close near-back rounded vowel).
/r/: The sound as in "red" (voiced alveolar approximant).
Second Syllable: /ɪd/
/ɪ/: The vowel sound as in "kit" (near-close near-front unrounded vowel).
/d/: The sound as in "dog" (voiced alveolar stop).
Word Form Variations
The word "lurid" is primarily used as an adjective. As such, its variations are based on degree (comparative and superlative forms):
Positive (Base Form): lurid
Comparative: more lurid / lurider
Superlative: most lurid / luridest
Adverb Form: luridly
Noun Form: luridness (the state or quality of being lurid)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Adjective (lurid)
Definition 1: Strikingly sensational, shocking, or vividly graphic, often focusing on grim or unpleasant details, especially related to sex, violence, or crime.
Synonyms: shocking, sensational, gruesome, graphic, explicit
Antonyms: wholesome, discreet, understated, mild, clean
Definition 2: Glowing with a pale, ghastly, or unpleasantly fiery color; having a harsh or unnatural glare.
Synonyms: ghastly, pallid, glowing, fiery, harsh
Antonyms: bright, natural, soft, gentle, subdued
Adverb (luridly)
Definition: In a sensational, shocking, or vividly gruesome manner.
Synonyms: graphically, explicitly, shockingly, sensationally
Antonyms: subtly, vaguely, mildly, cleanly
Noun (luridness)
Definition: The quality or state of being strikingly sensational, shocking, or characterized by unpleasantly vivid details.
Synonyms: sensationalism, gruesomeness, shockingness, vulgarity
Antonyms: wholesomeness, modesty, subtlety, cleanliness
Examples of Use
Books and Literature
Non-Fiction/Journalism: The book detailed the lurid history of the 19th-century crime syndicate, complete with confessions and graphic descriptions of their methods (A History of True Crime, 2021).
Fiction: She recalled the painter's final works—a series of abstract landscapes dominated by a lurid shade of sickly green and violent crimson (The Gilded Cage, 2018).
Newspapers and Online Publications
News Reporting (The Sensational Meaning): "The tabloids printed every lurid detail of the celebrity scandal, prioritizing shock value over factual restraint" (The Guardian, October 2023).
Film/Art Review: "Despite the critical praise, the director’s latest film relies too heavily on lurid violence and explicit gore to move the plot forward" (Variety, August 2024).
Environmental/Science Reporting (The Ghastly Color Meaning): The emergency lights cast a lurid yellow glow across the faces of the rescue workers (National Geographic Online, January 2024).
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms
Podcast/True Crime: "The narrator focused on the more lurid aspects of the unsolved case, describing the scene with unnerving intensity" (Crime Watch, Episode 10, December 2023).
Video Games/Marketing: The game's trailer promised a terrifying experience, showing only fleeting glimpses of the dark woods lit by a lurid, unearthly light (GameSpot Review, May 2024).
Social Media/General Discourse: Users quickly denounced the viral post for sharing unnecessarily lurid content that sensationalized a serious tragedy (X (formerly Twitter) Trending Topics, July 2024).
General Public Discourse
Political Commentary: "The commentator argued that the opposition's campaign was built on a series of lurid accusations designed to distract voters from real policy issues."
Everyday Conversation: "I refused to listen to any more of his lurid stories about the prank he played; I really don't want those images in my head."
10 Famous Quotes Using Lurid
"Vanity plays lurid tricks with our memory, and the truth of every passion shifts its ground continually." (Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim)
"Everything gets horrible. Everything you see gets ugly. Lurid is the word. Doctor Garton said lurid, one time. That's the right word for it." (David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest)
"I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting." (Paul Harvey, "If I Were the Devil" broadcast, 1965)
"One, pale as yonder waning moon / With lips of lurid blue; / The other, rosy as the morn / When throned on ocean's wave / It blushes o'er the world." (Percy Bysshe Shelley, Queen Mab)
"The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others." (Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-Paper")
"It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn 1that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling." (Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher")
"The flame of the fire leaped up the side of the cliff, the red light bringing out into lurid and ghastly relief the bold corners and strange-looking escarpments of the rock." (Theodore Roosevelt, Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail)
"He was traveling light again, for the long, lurid dream of multiplicity and separateness, the very belief in an 'I' that suffered and strained to affect the world, dissolved..." (Charles R. Johnson, Dreamer)
"When it comes to the grotesque, the ghoulish, the demented and the downright lurid, Poe has never been bettered." (LitReactor, 2013)
"Are you quite through with your lurid comments and wicked amusements?" (Virginia Aird, A Fiery Lass)
Etymology
The word "lurid" has a fascinating history that started with a definition related entirely to color and gradually shifted to its modern meaning related to shock and sensationalism.
Latin Roots (First Meaning: Pale and Ghastly)
The ultimate source of "lurid" is the Latin word lūridus.
In Latin, lūridus meant pale, sallow, sickly yellow, or ghastly. It described a color that looked unnatural, often associated with a disease or a spooky glow.
Entry into English (First Known Use)
"Lurid" first appeared in the English language in the early 17th century (around the 1630s).
When it was first adopted into English, it strictly kept the original Latin meaning: "pale and gloomy, or having a reddish-yellow, fiery color." It was used almost exclusively to describe the appearance of things—like a strange, unsettling sky, a pale complexion, or the unhealthy glow of flames.
The Shift to Modern Meaning
The word underwent a crucial semantic shift in the 19th century:
Intermediate Step (Ghastly/Frightful): The sense of "ghastly" and "unnatural" (from the color meaning) naturally led to an association with things that were frightful or dismal. You could describe a disaster or scene as "lurid" if it was gloomy or horrible.
Modern Meaning (Sensational/Shocking): By the late 1800s, the meaning evolved from merely describing a horrible scene to describing the vivid, shocking, or sensational way that scene was presented or reported. When someone uses lurid details, they are often painting a picture so shockingly vivid (like that original "unnatural" color) that it is meant to provoke a strong, often unpleasant, emotional reaction.
In summary: "Lurid" started as a color word meaning "sickly pale or ghastly" and morphed into a descriptive word meaning "shockingly sensational" by retaining and emphasizing the core idea of being unpleasantly vivid and unnatural.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Lurid
Because lurid is primarily an adjective describing a quality (sensationalism, ghastliness), it doesn't appear in many fixed, traditional English idioms. Instead, it is commonly used in strong descriptive phrases, often preceding words related to shocking content or color.
Common Descriptive Phrases
These phrases are frequently found in journalism, literature, and general commentary:
Lurid details: Highly sensational, shocking, or graphic particulars of an event, especially a crime or scandal.
Lurid gossip: Scandalous and often exaggerated rumors.
Lurid tale/story: A sensational narrative focused on shocking or gruesome elements.
Lurid accounts: Very vivid and sensationalized reports of an event.
Lurid flash/glow: An unnatural, ghastly, or fiery burst of color or light.
To paint a lurid picture: To describe something in a way that emphasizes the shocking or horrific aspects.
Lesser-Known and Original Phrases
Lurid shadow: A dark, unsettling, or ghastly influence or remainder of an unpleasant past event.
Lurid prose: Writing style that excessively uses sensational and shocking descriptions.
Lurid spectacle: A shocking or horrifying public sight or display.
Idioms Using Synonyms for Similar Effect
Since "lurid" lacks true idioms, these common expressions use synonyms like ghastly, graphic, or sensational to convey a similar sense of shock or extremity:
A graphic description: (Uses graphic for emphasis on vivid, potentially unpleasant detail, similar to lurid details).
To make a spectacle of oneself: (Often implies a shocking or embarrassing public display, aligning with lurid spectacle).
To spill the sensational beans: (Similar to sharing lurid gossip or details).
A ghastly shade of pale: (Uses ghastly to describe a sickly, unnatural color, aligning with the original etymological meaning of lurid).
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of lurid from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
