Meanings
plural Lolita complexes
- The condition of being sexually attracted to young girls, especially in an older man.
The counterpart of this problem in middle‐aged men has been described by the second named, the Lolita Complex, bringing to mind Humbert Humbert’s lust for “nymphets” in Nabokov’s famous novel.
1986, Roy Huss, The Mindscapes of Art, page 1981 more example
TONY BELLUS ★★★ Robbin’ the Cradle NRC 023—They say he’s robbing the cradle because he’s in love with a very young chick. Perhaps a musical version of the “Lolita” complex, this is a well‐recorded side. (Wonder, BMI)
1959 March 2, “Reviews of New Pop Records”, in Billboard, page 48Synonyms: Lolita syndrome, Lolitaism, nympholepsy, nymphophilia
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe condition of being sexually attracted to young girls, especially in an older man.
Origin
From the title of the 1955 novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov + complex.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Lolita complex. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lolita%20complex
“Lolita complex.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lolita%20complex. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Lolita complex,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lolita%20complex.
Source: Lolita complex on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.