fetishize
verb
fetishize is a verb meaning “To make the subject of (often sexual) obsession” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-E-T-I-S-H-I-Z-E, and it appears about once in every 14 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does fetishize mean?
verb
- 1
To make the subject of (often sexual) obsession.
Our society has fetishized personal wealth.
- 2
To view or treat (someone) in a way that reduces that person to a sexually charged, racial stereotype; to racially objectify.
- 3
To make into a fetish, or magical object.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce fetishize?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-fetishize.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fetishize
- fetishizes present, singular, he/she/it
- fetishizing participle, present
- fetishized participle, past
- fetishise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is fetishize?
Fetishize appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Fetishize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to make a fetish of:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fétichiser |
| Spanish | fetichizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.