From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishluridlu‧rid /ˈlʊərɪd, ˈljʊərɪd $ ˈlʊrɪd/ adjective 1 SHOCKa description, story etc that is lurid is deliberately shocking and involves sex or violence SYN explicit lurid headlines He told me in lurid detail what would happen to me.2 CCBRIGHTtoo brightly coloured SYN gaudy a lurid orange dress —luridly adverb
Examples from the Corpus
lurid• These days the cast are younger and prettier, the stories more lurid.• When Margo Adams announced years ago that Wade Boggs had chartered her as a road-trip mistress, that was lurid.• The reader will not find lurid accounts of a vast, secret conspiracy coiled and ready to strike again.• Yellow street lamps looked lurid in the greyness.• A lurid miasma dazed his vision.• For good measure, he had added a lurid red moon opposite it.• lurid red nail polish• The injury done on that October night in Lambeth was certainly a lurid reminder of the reality of extremist campaigning.• details of lurid sexual misconduct• The carpets were a lurid shade of green.Origin lurid (1600-1700) Latin luridus “pale yellow”, from luror “pale yellow color” 