paparazzi

[pah-puh-raht-see, pah-pah-raht-tsee]

plural noun

singular

paparazzo 

1. freelance photographers, especially those who take candid pictures of celebrities for publication.

   To evade the paparazzi, the actress sent her car to the front entrance and snuck in the back on foot.

   I felt like a paparazzo as I hung around waiting to catch a glimpse of the singer.

Word History and Origins

Origin of paparazzi¹

First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian, from the surname of such a photographer in Federico Fellini's ( def. ) La dolce vita (1959), of disputed origin

Example Sentences

Last spring, glossy magazine Paris Match published paparazzi pictures of her and her new partner strolling on Île de Ré.

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She remembers being “sliced” when she was 16 by a comment someone left on Twitter — “chicken noodle body” — under a paparazzi shot of her on the beach in a bikini.

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And celebrities could post their own “in real life” pictures, potentially thwarting the paparazzi, as well as stories, statements and confessionals, thereby avoiding the need for interviews over which they had far less control.

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Superstar Limo at California Adventure was conceived as a ride in which paparazzi would chase celebs, a concept deemed in poor taste in the wake of the death of Princess Diana.

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More recently, he’s been caught on video in a series of confrontations with paparazzi that got people talking about his well-being.

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