Definitions

1. noun

a strong feeling of liking for or desire to possess something, especially something that is not usually valued or appreciated, such as an object, activity, or person.

“The collector’s fetishism for antique furniture was evident in his vast collection.”

2. noun

a psychiatric disorder in which a person has an excessive or abnormal fixation on something.

“The therapist helped the patient overcome his fetishism for violent videos.”

3. noun

the attribution of human qualities or human-like qualities to non-human entities, such as objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

“The anthropologist studied the fetishism of the indigenous tribe towards their ancestral spirits.”

4. noun

the tendency to attribute human qualities or human-like qualities to objects or non-human entities.

“The philosopher critiqued the fetishism present in modern advertising and consumer culture.”

5. noun

in Marxist theory, the tendency to attribute human qualities or human-like qualities to objects, such as commodities, in order to disguise the exploitation inherent in the capitalist system.

“The economist argued that the fetishism of commodities in capitalist societies obscures the social relations of production.”

6. noun

in psychoanalysis, the tendency to attribute human qualities or human-like qualities to non-human entities, such as objects or activities, as a result of unconscious conflicts or desires.

“The psychoanalyst helped the patient overcome his fetishism for certain types of music.”