voyeuristic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of voyeuristic
Explanation
To be voyeuristic is to get excited or interested by watching others. Although this word often has a sexual connotation, it can also be used to for any kind of secondhand excitement. A voyeur is someone who likes to watch people who are engaging in private activities. Anything voyeuristic therefore has to do with watching or spying on someone. Voyeuristic activity usually creeps out the people being watched, because it violates their privacy. The word voyeur is French, meaning "one who views," from the verb voir, "to see."
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.
But whether you’re for or against that type of voyeuristic podcasting doesn’t matter here.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
Even the art she creates is voyeuristic: dollhouse-scale replicas of famous women’s spaces, such as Emily Dickinson’s bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
But in this culture of religious conservatism, experts say, a voyeuristic interest in household scandals thrives.
From BBC • Sep. 19, 2025
“There’s just an incredibly captivating, voyeuristic quality to these shows,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025
It was a school largely for people from out of town, preppies who observed the surrounding neighborhood with a voyeuristic curiosity when they weren’t hatching myths about it to scare freshmen.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
