fetishize

verb

fe·​tish·​ize ˈfe-ti-ˌshīz How to pronounce fetishize (audio)
 also  ˈfē-
fetishized; fetishizing

transitive verb

: to make a fetish of : treat or regard with fetishism

Examples of fetishize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Here’s exactly how to do it By Ashley Baker Read On Very Online Trophy Wives Desperate, real, trad, or mad—housewives have been celebrated, pilloried, and fetishized for ages. Michael Odell, Air Mail, 10 Apr. 2025 Bit by bit and then all at once, the concept of leaving one’s spouse has become, for women, almost fetishized—a rite of passage on the way to meeting one’s true self. Tara Ellison, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2025 Better to fetishize the founders. Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025 But the twist of Harley being yet another leech off Arthur, plus fabricating her own traumatic backstory just to fetishize Arthur’s mental illness, was a disservice to the lore of Harley herself. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for fetishize

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fetishize was in 1884

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Cite this Entry

“Fetishize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fetishize. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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