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.
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Recent Examples of fetishes
Here, the sado-sensual yearning of the Confederacy to instantiate itself through the fetishes and reliquaries of figurative sculpture is shown as hollow, impotent, all too discomfiting, and very real.
—
Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026
Studies show the online dating space is less welcoming for Black women willing to try it — experiences include misogynoir, racial fetishes and microaggressions, in addition to biased dating app algorithms that leave many feeling invisible, less desirable and lonely.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Studies show the online dating space is less welcoming for Black women willing to try it — experiences include misogynoir, racial fetishes and microaggressions, in addition to biased dating app algorithms that leave many feeling invisible, less desirable and lonely.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026
In addition, the creation of the fetishes, with their bits of bone, dirt, plants, and other objects, also unnerved enslavers and colonists.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
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
Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026
Studies show the online dating space is less welcoming for Black women willing to try it — experiences include misogynoir, racial fetishes and microaggressions, in addition to biased dating app algorithms that leave many feeling invisible, less desirable and lonely.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Studies show the online dating space is less welcoming for Black women willing to try it — experiences include misogynoir, racial fetishes and microaggressions, in addition to biased dating app algorithms that leave many feeling invisible, less desirable and lonely.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026
In addition, the creation of the fetishes, with their bits of bone, dirt, plants, and other objects, also unnerved enslavers and colonists.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fetishes
Noun
-
So much so, that the butterfly cut has become one of the current obsessions for adding movement and style to long hair.—
Arancha Gamo,
Glamour,
7 Dec. 2025
-
There’s one person who’s truly channeling Safdie’s grindset obsessions, however, and arguably stands head and slim shoulders above the rest.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
1 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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
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Then John Galliano arrived with another Libra eclipse in 1996, upping the theatrics with the era’s most audacious runway shows and giving the world talismans like the saddlebag.—
Maya AlZaben,
Vogue,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Deep crimson motifs bloom against fields of black and ivory; lozenges, cypress trees, and amulets thread their way into measured geometric grids.—
Amelia Dhuga,
Vogue,
27 Nov. 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
Cite this Entry
“Fetishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fetishes. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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