fetishism
Americannoun
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belief in or use of fetishes.
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Psychiatry. the compulsive use of some object, or part of the body, as a stimulus in the course of attaining sexual gratification, as a shoe, a lock of hair, or underclothes.
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blind devotion.
a fetishism of sacrifice to one's children.
noun
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a condition in which the handling of an inanimate object or a specific part of the body other than the sexual organs is a source of sexual satisfaction
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belief in or recourse to a fetish for magical purposes
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excessive attention or attachment to something
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fetishism
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.
This fetishism straddles the worlds of high-end products and high-end art, both realms where wait lists are common, and connections and prestige are just as important as currency itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
For all its brutality, the series retains the original’s romance without sliding into its predecessor’s cultural fetishism.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024
But as Jeremy O. Harris’ stage hit “Slave Play” has reminded us in recent years, heated arguments about fetishism, assimilation and otherness aren’t at all abstract when it comes to dating interracially.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Matthew Walther supports gun rights, but he thinks that the fetishism of AR-15 fandom is dangerous.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
The cult of memories sometimes reaches the point of fetishism.
From My Recollections by Jules Massenet
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
