onanism

IPA/ˈəʊnənɪzəm/
IPA/ˈəʊnənɪzəm/

onanism — noun

1. the practice of getting sexual pleasure by touching the genitals, especially you

1.nounC2
Definition

the practice of getting sexual pleasure by touching the genitals, especially your own

Example

The doctor told Noah that onanism would not damage his health.

formal term in medical advice

After puberty, Rin feared that onanism meant something was wrong.

onanism + that-clause

Common collocations
  • practice onanism
  • onanism among teenagers
  • onanism in private
  • onanism as a sin
Synonyms
  • masturbation

    the normal modern neutral word and much more common in everyday English

  • self-pleasure

    softer and less direct, often chosen to sound less clinical

  • self-stimulation

    more technical and often used in medical or psychological discussion

Grammar Patterns

practice onanism

onanism among teenagers

onanism as a sin

Usage Note

Usually found in formal, medical, religious, or historical writing. In everyday English, masturbation is much more common.

Common Mistakes

He did an onanism in his room.
He practiced onanism in his room.
This sense is usually uncountable, so it is not normally used with an article.

2. a way of having sex in which the penis is pulled out before ejaculation to try t

2.nounC2
Definition

a way of having sex in which the penis is pulled out before ejaculation to try to avoid pregnancy

Example

The doctor warned that onanism is unreliable as birth control.

onanism as birth control

In the lecture, Olivia learned that onanism means withdrawal before ejaculation.

onanism means withdrawal

Common collocations
  • onanism as birth control
  • rely on onanism
  • onanism to avoid pregnancy
  • onanism during intercourse
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

onanism as birth control

rely on onanism

onanism to avoid pregnancy

Usage Note

Mostly seen in older or formal writing. Today people usually say withdrawal or the pull-out method, so this sense needs context to be understood clearly.

Common Mistakes

They used an onanism to avoid pregnancy.
They used onanism to avoid pregnancy.
This meaning is also normally uncountable in formal discussion.

Word family

  • onanist
    nounC2
  • onanistic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Onanism is a formal and somewhat old-fashioned word for masturbation. Masturbation is the normal neutral term in modern English and works in medical, educational, and everyday contexts. Self-pleasure is softer and more indirect, so people often choose it when they want to sound less clinical. Self-stimulation is more technical and may appear in medical or psychological writing. Autoeroticism is broader and more academic, because it can refer to sexual excitement centered on oneself, not only the physical act. Use onanism mainly in older texts, religious discussion, or very formal writing. For example, a doctor would usually write masturbation in a leaflet, while a historian might quote onanism from a nineteenth-century sermon.

onanism ↗masturbation ↗self-pleasureself-stimulationautoeroticism

Etymology

HebrewLate LatinFrenchEnglish

Onanism comes from Onan, a figure in the Book of Genesis. Later writers turned his name into a noun for masturbation and, in an older sense, for withdrawal before ejaculation. The word reached English through learned Latin and French forms built from the biblical name.