fetishism

noun

fe·​tish·​ism ˈfe-ti-ˌshi-zəm 

 also  ˈfē-

variants or less commonly fetichism

1

: belief in magical fetishes

2

: extravagant irrational devotion

3

: the pathological displacement of erotic interest and satisfaction to a fetish

fetishist

ˈfe-ti-shist 

 also  ˈfē-

noun

fetishistic

ˌfe-ti-ˈshi-stik 

also

ˌfē- 

adjective

fetishistically

ˌfe-ti-ˈshi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

 also  ˌfē-

adverb

Examples of fetishism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reimagining India, however, requires a departure from the manufacturing fetishism that currently dominates government thinking, which echoes a global trend. —Rohit Lamba, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2024

Until 2013, sadomasochism, along with fetishism, was pathologized as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or the DSM—a ruling with legal implications for jobs, parental rights. —R. O. Kwon, TIME, 17 May 2024

Though the scholarship recipients are eager to begin paving a new path for themselves, the constant othering, feelings of isolation and fetishism begin coloring what should be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024

The challenge in cultivating a sustainable approach to modern knowledge work is to locate the space between productivity fetishism and the knee-jerk rejection of productivity thinking as toxic or unnecessary. —Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

fetishism

noun

fe·​tish·​ism

variants also fetichism

-ish-ˌiz-əm 

: the pathological displacement of erotic interest and satisfaction to a fetish

fetishistic adjective

also fetichistic

ˌfet-ish-ˈis-tik also ˌfēt- 

fetishistically

-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb