eroticize

verb

erot·​i·​cize i-ˈrä-tə-ˌsīz How to pronounce eroticize (audio)
eroticized; eroticizing

transitive verb

: to make erotic
eroticize the male image
eroticization noun

Examples of eroticize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bale, Robbie, and Saldaña can eroticize anything, and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki makes their avid eyes beam. Armond White, National Review, 7 Oct. 2022 Bros shines a light on the parts of gay male culture that seem to idealize and eroticize stereotypical masculinity. Max Gao, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Sep. 2022 Nobody did more to eroticize aviator shades and sideburns than Nez. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2021 And in this drama of opposing forces, through this brutal dialectic, aspects of each woman’s anatomy are grotesquely eroticized by her adversary: buttocks for the black woman, breasts for her white counterpart. Zadie Smith, The New York Review of Books, 11 Feb. 2020 They’ve been eroticized by Botticelli and vilified by Dickens and Shakespeare since long before Jean Harlow played a home-wrecking seductress in the 1932 film Red Headed Woman. Lena Dunham, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2017 Of course, politically incorrect racial fantasia aren’t the only eroticized taboo. Maureen O’Connor, The Cut, 11 June 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eroticize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of eroticize was circa 1914

Dictionary Entries Near eroticize

Cite this Entry

“Eroticize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eroticize. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Medical Definition

eroticize

transitive verb
erot·​i·​cize
variants or British eroticise
eroticized or British eroticised; eroticizing or British eroticising
: to make erotic
eroticization noun
or British eroticisation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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