exhibitionism

American  

[ek-suh-bish-uh-niz-uhm] / ˌɛk səˈbɪʃ əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. a tendency to display one's abilities or to behave in such a way as to attract attention.

2. Psychiatry. a disorder characterized especially by a compulsion to exhibit the genitals in public.

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exhibitionism British  

/ ˌɛksɪˈbɪʃəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. a compulsive desire to attract attention to oneself, esp by absurd or exaggerated behaviour or boasting

2. psychiatry a compulsive desire to expose one's genital organs publicly

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Other Word Forms

• exhibitionist noun
• exhibitionistic adjective
• nonexhibitionism noun

Etymology

Origin of exhibitionism

First recorded in 1890–95; exhibition + -ism

Explanation

Exhibitionism Is acting in a way that deliberately and extravagantly draws attention to yourself. Your brother's exhibitionism might lead him to wear a colorful wig and a tuxedo for the first day of school. There is a kind of exhibitionism that is considered a psychiatric illness — generally, this involves being naked, or partially naked, in public. The more ordinary type of exhibitionism also involves behavior that attracts notice, but it might be singing and dancing in a mall, wearing eccentric clothing, or another conspicuous way of acting. Exhibitionism comes from exhibit, "action of displaying," from the Latin exhibere, "to show or display."

Example Sentences

She allows the camera into the sanctums of her tanning booth and facial treatment sessions, but there’s an exhibitionism in these moments instead of conveying honesty and openness.

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2024

Most of the mental health stuff that you see is exhibitionism.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2023

And though there are times when Dudamel does restrain himself from the exhibitionism that mars the first movement of his Ninth, the result too often is faceless and bland.

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2022

Or, as the NFL described it several decades ago, an “unrestrained dance … deemed to be contrived exhibitionism that has no place in the sport.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2022

I am here obliged to contradict Krafft-Ebing, who regards exhibitionism as the effect of the impotence of certain individuals depraved by excesses, or as the unconscious act of certain epileptics.

From The Sexual Question A Scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study by Forel, Auguste