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turn-on

turn-on

14 8.2
Something that makes someone feel sexually excited or attracted
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜrnˌɔn/
  • NSFW
translation icon : excitación
  • It's a turn-on for him.
  • a big turn-on
  • a huge turn-on
  • a major turn-on

What are some of your turn ONS and some of your turn offs?

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Examples

  • I think also that sweat and body hair are sexual turn-ons for women, especially young women.

    Blog text (27)
  • No doubt, this is a great turn on for you.

    Blog text (4)
  • And this is such a big turn on for US women.

  • Bit of a turn on, yeah?

  • God, what a turn on.

  • It's a big turn on.

    Blog text (23)
  • And everybody knows what a turn-on a uniform is.

  • Honestly, the whole thing was a big turn-on.

  • It's a turn-on, isn't it?

  • Her smile is a real turn-on for me when we go out together.

Antonyms

turn-off
  • Informal
5 5.0

Something that makes a person lose interest or feel dislike

3 6.2

A strong feeling of dislike and disgust

How Arousing

fetish
  • NSFW
29 8.8
turn-on
  • NSFW
14 8.2
attraction
  • Specialized
96 2.8
appeal
188 2.6
to interest
206 1.0

Surface Forms

turn-on singular
turn-ons plural

Morphology

turn-on = turn on (semi-transparent) = turn + on

The noun is clearly based on the phrasal verb 'turn on', but the sexualized noun sense is somewhat lexicalized and not fully compositional for all learners.

Etymology

Turn-on comes from the idea of switching something on: turn + on meaning 'to start' or 'to make active', like turning on a light. So a turn-on is something that 'starts' strong feelings or excitement, often in a sexual way.