Definition of pedophilia
: sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object; specifically : a psychological disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child
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Recent Examples of pedophilia from the Web
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Investigations into pedophilia and physical abuse among Irish clergy have revealed thousands of victims over decades, with four Dublin archbishops found to have effectively turned a blind eye to cases of abuse from 1975 to 2004.
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Alissa Nutting’s first novel, Tampa, is a novel about pedophilia with complete clarity of vision: a middle school teacher who sleeps with her 14-year-old student.
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He has been fined for incitement against an ethnic group after calling Islam a religion of theft and pedophilia.
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In February, Milo Yiannopoulos, one of Breitbart’s biggest stars who took glee in provoking liberals, resigned from the site over his glib remarks about pedophilia.
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Like the false idea that gay men have a high propensity for pedophilia.
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And the pedophilia story, though awkwardly handled, at least raises gripping issues.
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A West Chicago man convicted of child abduction and whose trove of writings contained disturbing imagery of his fixation on pedophilia was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.
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Days afterward, untold people read that Hillary Clinton ran a pedophilia ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. Readers didn’t seek these stories out.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pedophilia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of pedophilia
New Latin
Other Psychology Terms
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about pedophilia
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Nglish: Translation of pedophilia for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pedophilia for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pedophilia
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