nymphomaniacal

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   dated, offensive, and usually applied to a woman: supposedly having excessive or uncontrollable sexual desire

   The narrator dismisses the woman as nymphomaniacal, using a dated and sexist label rather than describing her fairly.

Formed from nymphomaniac + -al, after nymphomania. Nymphomania combines Greek nymphe, 'young woman or bride,' with mania, 'madness.' Once treated as a medical diagnosis for supposedly excessive female desire, the term is now dated, gendered, and often offensive; nymphomaniacal commonly survives as a hyperbolic insult.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
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