paraphilia

noun

para·phil·ia ˌper-ə-ˈfi-lē-ə

ˌpa-rə-

: a pattern of recurring sexually arousing mental imagery or behavior that involves unusual and especially socially unacceptable sexual practices (such as sadism or pedophilia)

paraphiliac

ˌper-ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌak

ˌpa-rə-

adjective or noun

or paraphilic

ˌper-ə-ˈfi-lik

ˌpa-rə-

Examples of paraphilia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For those with paraphilia, the burglary is a cover story. —

Tribune News Service, oregonlive.com, 22 June 2019 It's estimated that roughly one third of the population experiments with some form of paraphilia at least once in their lives, with 17 percent regularly engaging in their kinks. —

Andrew Paul, GQ, 24 Apr. 2018 More commonly discussed types of paraphilia are things like pedophilia, zoophilia, and objectophilia. —

Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, 14 Feb. 2018

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

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of paraphilia was in 1925

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Paraphilia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paraphilia. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

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Medical Definition

paraphilia

noun

para·phil·ia -ˈfil-ē-ə

: a pattern of recurring sexually arousing mental imagery or behavior that involves unusual and especially socially unacceptable sexual practices (as sadism, masochism, fetishism, or pedophilia)