voyeurism

noun

: the desires or behavior of a voyeur: such as
a
: the practice of obtaining sexual gratification from observing others
Psychiatrists generally divide paraphilias into two groups: those focused on objects, like a foot fetish, and those focused on behaviors, like exhibitionism, voyeurism or frottageBenedict Carey
Ward, if he was guilty of anything at all, was guilty of observation. Looking, or (if you will) leering and ogling are not normally considered indictable offenses in British courts of law, but they do shade over into voyeurismPaul Thomas
also : the criminal act of surreptitiously viewing a person without their consent in a place where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy (such as a home or public bathroom) or of using a device (such as a camera) for the purpose of such viewing
A 21-year-old man has been charged with voyeurism for allegedly using his phone's camera to view the person using the restroom in the stall next to him in a dorm on the Notre Dame campus, according to court records. Melissa Hudson
b
: the practice of taking pleasure in observing something private, sordid, or scandalous
Now there's a volume for those who are … bored by the salacious voyeurism of tell-alls.Steven M. Zeitchik
Voyeurism allows us to experience all the excitement of disaster, catastrophe, and pain, to witness the most horrible human events, without any danger of feeling real pain.Gerald Mast
But the voice of the diarist … will always exert a fascination close to voyeurism.Rosellen Brown

Examples of voyeurism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The suspension came after the board said it was notified that Murad had been charged with four counts of video voyeurism, a felony. My Ly, arkansasonline.com, 24 Oct. 2024 Text overlaid on these images referred to voyeurism and the surveillance state. Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 24 Oct. 2024 The law was also amended to criminalize acts such as stalking and voyeurism and allow for suspects to be tried as adults at age 16. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 14 Aug. 2024 Rutter’s fanbase, like most TikTokers’, includes people who watch her with some level of either schadenfreude or not-exactly-kind voyeurism. Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 20 Oct. 2021 See all Example Sentences for voyeurism 

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of voyeurism was in 1913

Dictionary Entries Near voyeurism

Cite this Entry

“Voyeurism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voyeurism. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

voyeurism

noun
voy·​eur·​ism -ˌiz-əm How to pronounce voyeurism (audio)
: the tendencies or behavior of a voyeur
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!