I'm looking for a word or phrase that means something along the lines of "the exhilaration of taboo".

Here's the context for what I'm looking for: "It was strange and [blank] to walk around and see everyone's age so blatantly public."


Solution 1:

Collins defines titillating as

of or relating to something that arouses, teases, interests, or excites someone pleasurably and often superficially He writes deliberately titillating lyrics.

Merriam-Websters offers

pleasantly stimulating or exciting , such as titillating reading; also: erotic

Solution 2:

"Guilty pleasure" is a common phrase. Also consider hedonic, which while it denotes no more than pleasure or pursuit thereof, often connotes breaking taboos. (In noun form, hedonism.)

Edit: In the example sentence, one might replace [blank] with "gave us a frisson of Schadenfreude" or "... of superiority". Knowing others' ages is not taboo, I think, and no age is to be looked down upon, but one imagines some do.

Solution 3:

I wonder if our BE phrase felt a bit naughty would fill the bill in the context you give.