sexy

Sexy is most commonly used to describe someone considered sexually attractive, but it gets used in all kinds of other ways.

sexually attractive

When you describe a person as sexy, it often suggests that you are sexually attracted to them. A very similar term for this sense of the word is hot, which is very informal and, like sexy, can be objectifying. A perhaps more tasteful way of saying this is simply attractive. Words like gorgeous, beautiful, good-looking, and pretty are all used in reference to looks but are less directly tied to sex.

All of these words, including sexy, can be used to simply imply that you think a person looks good (as opposed to implying that you find them sexually attractive), like when you say that your friend looks sexy as a compliment. A word that accomplishes the same thing but is less focused on physical appearance is fierce. You could also just say, “You look great!”

Sexy most often relates to a person’s physical appearance, but this is not always the case. A person may be considered sexy for many other reasons, such as their sense of humor or interests. The word attractive is also commonly used to indicate this, as in I find men with good taste in books very attractive. 

sexually appealing

Sometimes, the word is used to describe something that’s thought to be sexually appealing—by making someone more sexually attractive, as in a sexy accent or I want to find a sexy dress for the wedding. In the case of the dress, the word flirty can mean about the same thing. A more intense version is seductive.

sexually stimulating

The sense of sexy that means “sexually stimulating” is often applied to media, like books and movies, that contain sexual elements intended to be stimulating, especially as their primary focus.

Many of the synonyms for this sense of sexy are a bit euphemistic, meaning they’re intended to be a bit softer or less direct. These include racy, risqué, steamy, sensual, and titillating. Something that deals with sexual elements somewhat indirectly—such as through innuendos—can be called sexually suggestive.

Other words carry a tone of judgment, indicating that such things are offensive or inappropriate, including lewd and vulgar. The word dirty can be used in this negative way or in a more playful way that’s essentially a euphemism despite its generally negative connotation, as in dirty magazines. 

Sometimes, this use of sexy is pretty literal—saying that someone sent you sexy texts typically means the texts had some form of sexual content. The word sexual can be used to mean the same thing, but it’s typically used in a broader and more neutral way to mean “involving or related to sex,” as in sexual content or sexual orientation.

exciting or flashy 

The word sexy is also commonly used in a kind of figurative way to describe things that are exciting in some way, as in It’s hard to get people to pay attention to campaign finance reform because it’s not a sexy topic, but it’s very important. Similar words include compelling, engaging, and interesting.

This sense of sexy is usually used in negative contexts (when describing things that are specifically not sexy in this way), but not always. Cars are often described or advertised as sexy, for example. Descriptive words that suggest something similar include flashy and fancy.