Priapism
//ˈpraɪ.əˌpɪ.zəm// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A potentially painful or harmful medical condition in which the erect penis does not return to its flaccid state (despite the absence of both physical and psychological stimulation), often as a result of a spinal injury. uncountable
- 2 condition in which the penis is continually erect; usually painful and seldom with sexual arousal wordnet
- 3 An instance of this. countable
"Phosphorus has long been considered a powerful stimulant. It acts upon the generative organism, it is recorded, in a manner to cause the most violent priapisms."
- 4 The obsessive focus on one's genitals or on the need for genital gratification. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"[M]any on the right have found themselves justifying our current president's priapism with the same arguments that liberals once used to excuse Clinton."
Example
More examples"Phosphorus has long been considered a powerful stimulant. It acts upon the generative organism, it is recorded, in a manner to cause the most violent priapisms."
Etymology
From Latin priapismus, from Priapus (“the god of procreation, the penis”) + -ism, from Ancient Greek πριαπισμός (priapismós).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.