exhibitionism
Americannoun
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a tendency to display one's abilities or to behave in such a way as to attract attention.
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Psychiatry. a disorder characterized especially by a compulsion to exhibit the genitals in public.
noun
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a compulsive desire to attract attention to oneself, esp by absurd or exaggerated behaviour or boasting
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psychiatry a compulsive desire to expose one's genital organs publicly
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A Turkish court later ruled that their choreography and physical contact on stage amounted to exhibitionism.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
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
This is a kind of psychic exhibitionism, the gratification it causes lying exactly, as in physical exhibitionism, in the emotional confusion which it is felt to arouse.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Havelock Ellis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
