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voy·eur·ism | \ vwä-ˈyər-ˌi-zəm 
, vȯi-ˈər- \
, vȯi-ˈər- \Definition of voyeurism
: 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 frottage …— Benedict 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 voyeurism …— Paul Thomas
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 Within a month, four major stars apologized or announced early retirement after being linked to the group chat, which reflects a broader problem in the country of illicit recordings and voyeurism.
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Jessie Yeung, CNN, "2 K-pop stars sentenced to prison for sexual assault. One of them also filmed it," 29 Nov. 2019 Mikhail Randall is charged with disorderly conduct and video voyeurism.
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BostonGlobe.com, "NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Twin brothers from Rhode Island have been secretly recording people in their homes and are facing charges, police say.," 23 Oct. 2019 The Renée Zellweger vehicle is the kind of hagiographic musical biopic the Academy gobbles up — full of dueling compassion and voyeurism, the looming phantom of death, emotional manipulation, relentless drug use and gutting flashbacks.
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Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Rise of the Feminist Musical Drama: 'Judy' and Other Films Spotlight Talent Over Romance," 15 Nov. 2019 The University of Rhode Island alerted students Tuesday that police are investigating at least four reports of video voyeurism in residence halls and that a suspect has not yet been identified.
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Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News, "U. of Rhode Island looking for suspect in multiple reports of video voyeurism in dorms," 30 Oct. 2019 Perez, who has a wife and children in Palm Beach County, will be brought from Texas to South Florida to face the eight counts of video voyeurism already filed and likely a number of additional charges resulting from the investigation.
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Doug Phillips, sun-sentinel.com, "Hospital bathroom voyeur put hidden camera in 3 medical facilities; had a million images, cops say," 22 Oct. 2019 In this respect the voyeurism wears a little thin, especially when the humans get involved in an all-encompassing legal battle.
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Lindsey Bahr, Detroit Free Press, "‘Art of Racing in the Rain’ heavy on sentiment, cliches," 8 Aug. 2019 In this respect the voyeurism wears a little thin, especially when the humans get involved in an all-encompassing legal battle.
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Lindsey Bahr, chicagotribune.com, "‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’ review: Milo Ventimiglia stars in an ice cream sundae of emotion with a dog on top," 7 Aug. 2019 In this respect the voyeurism wears a little thin, especially when the humans get involved in an all-encompassing legal battle.
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Lindsey Bahr, Houston Chronicle, "‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’ goes to the dogs," 7 Aug. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'voyeurism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for voyeurism
voyeurism
nounvoy·eur·ism | \ -ˌiz-əm \
\Medical Definition of voyeurism
: the tendencies or behavior of a voyeur
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Time Traveler for voyeurism
The first known use of voyeurism was in 1913
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