Masturbation

//ˌmæstɚˈbeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Sexual stimulation of one's genitalia or other erotic regions, often to the point of orgasm. uncountable, usually

    "Diogenes in sight of all, exercising his Masturbation, bred a longing desire in the bystanders, that in such sort they might fill their bellies by rubbing or clawing the same."

  2. 2
    manual stimulation of the genital organs (of yourself or another) for sexual pleasure wordnet
  3. 3
    A vain activity. figuratively, uncountable, usually

    "So call me antisocial, call it masturbation Either way, it's a solo operation I'm just far more comfortable alone"

Synonyms

All synonyms
onanismabuseautoeroticismbestialitycelebrating palm sundaychoking the chicken

Example

More examples

"In the English world of the 19th century, it was often said that masturbation would lead to a loss of memory and attention."

Etymology

Borrowed from French masturbation, New Latin masturbātiō, masturbātiōnem. By surface analysis, masturbat(e) + -ion.

Related phrases

intellectual masturbationmental masturbationmutual masturbation

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.