scopophilism

sco·po·phil·ism
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UK/skɒ.pəʊˈfɪ.lɪ.zəm/US/skɑ.poʊˈfɪ.lɪ.zəm/

noun

Synonym of scopophilia.

Scrabble 23

Meanings

nounscopophilism (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountableSynonym of scopophilia.

    Voyeurism is a subset of scopophilism in which the observer preferentially watches scandalous or sexual activities.

    2007, J.K. Petersen, Cawood James S., Corcoran James S., Michael H. Ph.D., Understanding Surveillance Technologies: Spy Devices, Privacy, History & Applications, Second Edition
    3 more examples

    In order to explore the possible audience responses as they watch the female performers' bodies, psychological theories on scopophilism and narcissism can be used to analyze Wei's performances.

    2007, Iris Hsin-chun Tuan, Alternative Theater in Taiwan: Feminist and Intercultural Approaches

    "Visual pleasure" is a straightforward characterization, for example, when compared to terms with a more academic ring, such as "ocularcentrism" or the Freudian "scopophilism."

    2010, Robert S. Nelson, Richard Shiff, Critical Terms for Art History, Second Edition

    I remember how alien this seemed to me, having being brought up in a biological school that thought of instincts in the plural. But the same fondness for pairs is to be found again and again: love-hate; exhibitionism-scopophilism; etc. It is as if Freud had a difficulty in contemplating any topic unless he could divide it into two opposites, and never more than two.

    2013, José Bleger, Symbiosis and Ambiguity: A Psychoanalytic Study

    Synonyms: scopophilia

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of scopophilia.

Also see

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
  4. Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
  5. Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-o-s
  8. Ancient Greekφίλος (phílos)
  9. Englishscopophilism

From Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”) + English -philism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

scopophilism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophilism

MLA

“scopophilism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophilism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scopophilism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophilism.

Source: scopophilism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.