voyeuristic

adjective

voy·​eur·​is·​tic ˌvwä-(ˌ)yər-ˈi-stik  ˌvȯi-ər- 

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a voyeur

voyeuristic drives

… confronting her beauty gave him a bad conscience and made him feel shamefully voyeuristic …

—Phillip Roth

: relating to or derived from voyeurism

voyeuristic pleasure

Through the video surveillance system, Polly engages in voyeuristic eavesdropping.

—Judith Mayne

… to demonstrate that the voyeuristic thrill of watching a stripper ceases at the moment of nakedness.

—Mark Morris

voyeuristically

ˌvwä-(ˌ)yər-ˈi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌvȯi-ər-

adverb

In that film, the cameras voyeuristically followed actor Richard Gere as he worked out and dressed up.

—The Wall Street Journal

Examples of voyeuristic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reliving your teens from the safety of adulthood is the perfect voyeuristic formula. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025

There’s a bleak inevitability to the proceedings and a cruel voyeuristic streak to how we’re called to not look away. —Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 9 May 2025

Buoyant members of a Harlem social club of drag kings and queens posed for James Van Der Zee, while Brassaï cast his quietly voyeuristic eye on a relaxed and tender lesbian couple enjoying a Paris nightclub. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025

Yet there was something about the voyeuristic, predatory nature of American Appeal’s ad campaign that felt different, worse, beyond exploitative. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for voyeuristic

• agonistic
• altruistic
• animistic
• aphoristic
• atheistic
• cabalistic
• calvinistic
• chauvinistic
• dualistic
• egoistic
• egotistic
• eucharistic

Medical Definition

voyeuristic

adjective

voy·​eur·​is·​tic ˌvwä-(ˌ)yər-ˈis-tik  ˌvȯi-ər- 

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a voyeur

voyeuristic drives

voyeuristically

-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb