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Glite Dictionary
🚫 Attracted to corpses 💀 Death enthusiast 🐞 Feeds on dead matter
necrophile

necrophile

1 9.9
A person who is very interested in death and burial customs
  • noun
  • /ˈnɛkrəˌfaɪl/
translation icon : tanatófilo
  • Documentaries sometimes focus on the lives of necrophiles and how their interests shape their interactions with society.

Examples

  • The artist was often labeled a necrophile because of their obsession with depicting death in their paintings.

  • The author was called a necrophile because of his detailed writings about ancient burial rituals.

  • Some people mistakenly believe that anyone interested in cemeteries is a necrophile.

  • Her collection of antique mourning jewelry led friends to joke that she was a necrophile.

  • The term necrophile is often misunderstood.

  • Many consider a necrophile to be a taboo subject.

  • Some literature explores the mind of a necrophile and examines cultural perceptions of death.

Surface Forms

necrophile singular
necrophiles plural

Morphology

necrophile = necro + phile

The word is built directly from 'necro-' ('death') and 'phile' ('lover'), so a learner can readily infer fascination with death or dead bodies.

Etymology

Necrophile comes from Greek parts necro- meaning 'dead' and -phile meaning 'lover', so it means 'lover of the dead'. Think of bibliophile ('book lover') to see the same -phile idea; here it describes someone who is strongly interested in death, dead bodies, or funeral customs.