Meanings
- uncountableAn attraction to or love of foreign people, manners or culture.
- uncountableliteratureLove (especially sexual love) between humans and extraterrestrials.
Xenophilia (header) From a young age, even before I knew what sex was, I always had a thing for girls. Alien girls I mean — Alorians in particular. I broke out in a sweat every time I saw them. They were so beautiful.
2012, Mark Guinane, Horizon's Edge, →ISBN, page 3032 more examples
While it may appear that Sturgeon has thus become an advocate of homoeroticism, incest, xenophilia, and other exotic or decadent sexual practices, he remains committed rather to the ideals of understanding and tolerance.
1983, Frank Northen Magill, Survey of modern fantasy literature, Volume 4, Salem Press, →ISBN, page 1707An alien—seemingly just a tourist—lands in the middle of Washington, assumes human, male form, and is adopted by four college kids for fun and sex. The story is told in snatches of dialogue and scraps of poetry (the title is from e.e. cummings), and is all goofy juxtapositions, happy xenophilia, and affection for the enthusiastic and accepting youth.
2007, Julie Phillips, James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, →ISBN, page 300
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Hellenic*ksénwos
- Ancient Greekξένϝος (xénwos)
- Ancient Greekξένος (xénos)
- Englishxeno-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-o-s
- Ancient Greekφῐ́λος (phĭ́los)
- Ancient Greekφῐλῐ́ᾱ (phĭlĭ́ā)
- Englishxenophilia
Translations
Bulgarian ксенофилия
- ксенофилия (ksenofilija)attraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Catalan xenofília
- xenofíliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Dutch xenofilie
- xenofilieattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Finnish ksenofilia
- ksenofiliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
French xénophilie
- xénophilieattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
German Xenophilie
- Xenophilieattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Greek ξενοφιλία
- ξενοφιλία (xenofilía)attraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Italian esterofilia
- esterofiliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Polish ksenofilia
- ksenofiliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Portuguese xenofilia
- xenofiliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Romanian xenofilie
- xenofilieattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Russian ксенофи́лия, ксенофили́я
- ксенофи́лия (ksenofílija)attraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
- ксенофили́я (ksenofilíja)attraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Spanish xenofilia
- xenofiliaattraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Ukrainian ксенофілі́я
- ксенофілі́я (ksenofilíja)attraction or love for foreign people, manners or culture
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with xenophilia
Anagrams
Cite this entry
xenophilia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenophilia
“xenophilia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenophilia. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xenophilia,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xenophilia.
Source: xenophilia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.