variants
also fetiches
1
as in obsessions
something about which one is constantly thinking or concerned
dieting seems to be a fetish with some people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in talismans
something worn or kept to bring good luck or keep away evil
an archaeologist discovering an old animal tooth that may have been worn as a fetish
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fetishes
The titillating drama explores the complexities of dominant-submissive relationships and fetishes, as Ray gets aroused by making Colin lick his boots, buy his groceries and sleep at the foot of his bed.
—
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fetishes
Noun
-
Based on the award-winning Los Angeles Times article by Frank Shyong, Rosemead watches as an ailing woman discovers her teenage son’s violent obsessions and must go to great lengths to protect him — and possibly others — in a race against time.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The one with espresso angst, flannel obsessions, and a killer soundtrack featuring the likes of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and The Smashing Pumpkins?—
Chelsea Haney
October 25,
New Atlas,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The pieces extending the collection kept spotlighting the boldness of gold and playing with talismans centered on key themes of the brand, such as the evil eye symbol abounding on necklaces and minimal earrings and rings nodding to the shape of the snake.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
10 Oct. 2025
-
To explain these distortions, experts speculate that the figures served as fertility talismans—designed to maximize those parts of the body that evolution has encoded us to see as signs of optimal child-bearers.—
Harmon Siegel,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Prior to her latest health scare, Bardot was treated for respiratory problems in 2023 after struggling to breathe due to the heat.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Side effects may include stomach issues, headaches, and rare kidney problems from contamination.—
Sarah Anzlovar,
Verywell Health,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Appearances are also scheduled by team mascots Slamson and Dunkson, the Stockton Kings mascot, and NBC Sports California broadcasters Kayte Christensen, Kyle Draper, Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason.—
Marcus Smith,
Sacbee.com,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Hutcherson starred in the original as a nighttime security guard at Freddys Fazbear’s Pizza, where the animatronic mascots are prone to murder.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Tim Robinson, who so often plays men consumed by petty fixations or compelled to take things too far, has his own fixations.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The world Maddie lives in is populated by eccentric characters who wear their respective fixations on their sleeve.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Brides in South Asia are famously decked out in the precious metal – necklaces, earrings, nose rings, hair pieces and amulets – that can be gifted or inherited.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Natron bubbling out of pale saline lakes in the Wadi Natron (west of the Nile) was used in making the blue glaze faience for amulets such as Taweret’s and the scarab beetles such as those produced in a delta factory.—
Vanessa Taylor,
Big Think,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But these names, which signal both over-the-top satire and dramatization of extreme politics, are some of the small nods and Easter Eggs that Anderson includes in his script for One Battle After Another, which distill the preoccupations of novelist Thomas Pynchon.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Oct. 2025
-
In a cheeky aside directed at Sony Pictures Classics co-head Micheal Barker who was at the dinner, Quinn recalled how one of his preoccupations at Samuel Goldwyn had been figuring out what titles their rivals were getting access to.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The next phase of crypto's growth won't revolve around sleek marketing or speculative manias.—
Annabelle Huang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The reality is that the global network has become a transmission mechanism for all kinds of manias and panics, just as the combination of printing and literacy temporarily increased the prevalence of millenarian sects and witch crazes.—
Niall Ferguson,
Foreign Affairs,
15 Aug. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Fetishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fetishes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share