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necrophilia

American  
[nek-ruh-fil-ee-uh] / ˌnɛk rəˈfɪl i ə /

noun

Psychiatry.

  1. an erotic attraction to corpses.

necrophilia British  
/ ˌnɛkrəʊˈfɪlɪə, ˈnɛkrəʊˌfaɪl /

noun

  1. Also called: necromania.   necrophilism.  sexual attraction for or sexual intercourse with dead bodies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • necrophiliac adjective
  • necrophilic adjective

Etymology

Origin of necrophilia

From New Latin, dating back to 1890–95; necro-, -philia

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.

Thus American society stands broadly convicted of necrophilia — as opposed to biophilia.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2024

Jokes about "necrophilia," "autism" and "Selena Gomez's kidney transplant" were named as examples of jokes that the characters found to be inappropriate.

From Fox News • Aug. 4, 2021

The latest joke at her expense came in a recent episode of the Paramount+ legal drama, when characters discussed off-limits topics for comedy now as being necrophilia, autism and "Selena Gomez's kidney transplant".

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2021

Kevin McGowan, a professor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and not involved in the study, said he’d never witnessed a sign of necrophilia in more than three decades of observing crows.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2018

Kees Moeliker of the Netherlands, the scientific discoverer of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2012

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.