scopophilia

American  

[skoh-puh-fil-ee-uh] / ˌskoʊ pəˈfɪl i ə /

Also scoptophilia

noun

Psychiatry.

1. the obtaining of sexual pleasure by looking at nude bodies, erotic photographs, etc.

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Other Word Forms

• scopophiliac noun
• scopophilic adjective
• scoptophiliac noun
• scoptophilic adjective

Etymology

Origin of scopophilia

From New Latin, dating back to 1920–25; -scope, -o-, -philia

Example Sentences

Although Svenson denies any erotic component to his photographs, the frisson of scopophilia unmistakably animates them.

From New York Times

De Palma has spent a lifetime exploring the metaphysics of recording technology and of scopophilia, showing us how observation can deceive as much as it reveals.

From Washington Post

At CB1 Gallery, the order of the day is scopophilia — a fancier, more nuanced cousin to voyeurism.

From Los Angeles Times

But I do stand by my sense that Lana and Shelly have been given up to abjection far more often—and subject to far more lurid scopophilia—than any of the male characters.

From Slate

His capacity for obsessive rapture and scopophilia is unlocked by the bizarre discovery of a severed ear in some waste ground after walking home from the hospital where his dad is recovering from serious spinal injuries.

From The Guardian