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fe·tish
noun \ˈfe-tish also ˈfē-\
: a strong and unusual need or desire for something
: a need or desire for an object, body part, or activity for sexual excitement
: an object that is believed to have magical powers
Full Definition of FETISH
1a: an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence
1b: an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion : prepossession
1c: an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression
2: a rite or cult of fetish worshipers
3: fixation
Variants of FETISH
fe·tish also fe·tich
Examples of FETISH
He has a fetish for secrecy.
He wore a fetish to ward off evil spirits.
Origin of FETISH
French & Portuguese; French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço, from feitiço artificial, false, from Latin facticius factitious
First Known Use: 1613
Related to FETISH
Synonyms
fixation (also fetich), idée fixe, mania, obsession, preoccupation, prepossession
Antonyms
hoodoo, jinx
Related Words
monomania; complex, hang-up, problem, trip; appetite, cacoëthes, compulsion, craving, desire, drive, enthusiasm, fascination, hankering, hunger, infatuation, itch, longing, lust, passion, pining, thirst, urge, yearning, yen; idiosyncrasy, quirk; bent, disposition, inclination, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency
Near Antonyms
apathy, disinterestedness, disregard, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern, unconcernedness
Rhymes with FETISH
Lettish, pettish, wettish