voyeur

voyeur — noun

1. someone who finds sexual excitement in observing other people without their know

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who finds sexual excitement in observing other people without their knowledge, especially when those people are naked or taking part in sexual activity

Example

Police arrested Eli for acting as a voyeur and filming neighbours through their bedroom window.

act as a voyeur

Karim's therapist warned that watching hotel guests with binoculars was classic voyeur behaviour.

adjective + voyeur: classic voyeur behaviour

Common collocations
  • obsessive voyeur
  • self-confessed voyeur
  • voyeur behaviour
  • voyeur tendencies
Synonyms
  • peeping Tom

    more informal, specifically refers to someone who looks through windows at people who are undressed

  • secret watcher

    descriptive phrase rather than a single-word synonym; less clinical

Grammar Patterns

a + ~

~ + of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Frequently used in legal and psychological contexts. In many jurisdictions, acting as a voyeur is a criminal offence. The noun is countable — a voyeur, the voyeurs.

Common Mistakes

He is a voyeur who likes watching movies.
He is a voyeur who secretly films people in the gym shower.
'voyeur' specifically implies secret observation of nakedness or sex acts, not ordinary viewing.

2. a person who takes an unhealthy or overly eager interest in the private problems

2.nounB2
Definition

a person who takes an unhealthy or overly eager interest in the private problems and personal lives of other people, often by watching or reading about them

Example

Tara called her gossipy colleague a voyeur for eavesdropping daily near the water cooler.

figurative use: call someone a voyeur

Reality TV turns ordinary viewers into voyeurs who crave strangers' private arguments and breakdowns.

turn [someone] into a voyeur

Common collocations
  • mere voyeur
  • moral voyeur
  • media voyeur
  • voyeur of misery
Synonyms
  • busybody

    less intense; focuses on meddling rather than secret watching

  • gawker

    more casual; refers to staring at accidents or scenes in public

Grammar Patterns

a + ~

mere + ~

Usage Note

This is a figurative extension of the literal sexual meaning. It is commonly used to criticise media consumers, gossipers, or anyone who seems obsessively interested in others' misfortunes. Often appears with 'mere' or 'just a' to downplay the intensity.

Word family

  • voyeurism
    nounB2
  • voyeuristic
    adjectiveC1
  • voyeuristically
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms describe someone who watches others without their knowledge, but they differ in intensity and scope. A voyeur specifically seeks sexual gratification from secretly viewing people who are naked or engaged in sex acts; it is the clinical and legal term. A peeping Tom is more informal and refers almost exclusively to someone who looks through windows at undressed people — it is narrower and carries a slightly dated, colloquial tone. A secret watcher is a descriptive phrase, not a fixed term, and can apply to any hidden observation (not necessarily sexual). A gawker stares openly rather than secretly, usually at accidents or public scenes, and lacks the sexual or intimate dimension entirely. Example: 'The tabloid photographer was accused of being a voyeur, not just a gawker, because he used a long lens to film through the celebrity's bedroom curtains.'

peeping Tomsecret watchergawker

Common collocations

Nouns

  • voyeur behaviour
  • voyeur tendencies
  • voyeur culture

Phrases

  • act as a voyeur
  • turn someone into a voyeur

Adjectives

Prepositions

  • voyeur of [something]

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

源自法語 voyeur，字面意思為「觀看者」，來自動詞 voir（觀看），最終可追溯至拉丁語 vidēre（看見）。這個詞在二十世紀初期進入英語，最初專指以偷窺性行為獲得快感的人，後來引申出更廣泛的「窺探他人私事」的用法。