voyeurism

noun

: 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 frottageBenedict 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 voyeurismPaul Thomas
also : the criminal act of surreptitiously viewing a person without their consent in a place where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy (such as a home or public bathroom) or of using a device (such as a camera) for the purpose of such viewing
A 21-year-old man has been charged with voyeurism for allegedly using his phone's camera to view the person using the restroom in the stall next to him in a dorm on the Notre Dame campus, according to court records. Melissa Hudson
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 He was indicted on two separate occasions on charges of video voyeurism as well as first- and third-degree rape. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 13 Mar. 2024 Mirasol is also facing six counts of video voyeurism, which are third-degree felonies, per state court records obtained by The Tampa Bay Times. Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 But the cellphone video Ziegler took of the Oct. 2 incident has prompted a different allegation against him: video voyeurism. Lori Rozsa, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 Police forwarded a probable-cause affidavit for video voyeurism, a third-degree felony, against Ziegler to the Sarasota County state attorney’s office. Lori Rozsa, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 As a result, on Friday police filed a probable cause affidavit with the Florida State Attorney's Office recommending Ziegler be charged with felony voyeurism. Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2024 The detective’s bag of tricks is all voyeurism, like Hollywood’s. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023 Popular science often feels like a kind of voyeurism. Julian Baggini, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2023 In an enchanting act of voyeurism, audiences members wear masks — the Venetian type, not the health-protecting kind (those are optional) — and follow characters from room to room, into densely packed apothecary dens, eerie miniature forests and dark, elaborate dining halls. Rachel Sherman, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'voyeurism.' 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

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of voyeurism was in 1913

Dictionary Entries Near voyeurism

Cite this Entry

“Voyeurism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voyeurism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

voyeurism

noun
voy·​eur·​ism -ˌiz-əm How to pronounce voyeurism (audio)
: the tendencies or behavior of a voyeur
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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