pedophilia

Noun

pedophilia (countable and uncountable, plural pedophilias)

1. (US) Sexual attraction by adults and adolescents to children, specifically prepubescent children.
   • As noted earlier, pedophilia was cited as both an aggravating and a mitigating circumstance by trial judges, as was the absence of pedophilia.2007, Margaret Mary Wright, Judicial decision making in child sexual abuse cases, page 122
   • Sometimes a man with pedophilia is content to stroke the child's hair, but he may also manipulate the child's genitalia, [...]2009, Ann Kring, Sheri Johnson, Gerald C. Davison, Abnormal Psychology

   Synonyms:

   childlove, pederosis, pedophilic disorder

   Antonyms:

   teleiophilia

2. (US, broadly, proscribed) Sexual activity between adults and children; the act of child molestation.
   • Fifteen months later, a committee of the congregation found that he had sexually abused several boys within the congregation. […] The fact that Alger committed pedophilia at the age of thirty-four casts a shadow over his subsequent yearning for relationships with boys and young men, but there is no...1998, Andrew L. Kaufman, Cardozo, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 25
   • Entire books have been written about the role of scandal in US politics (Garment, 1992). Offenses include smoking marijuana, hiring illegal aliens, plagiarizing, sexually harassing others, engaging in pedophilia, […]2005, Carol Weiss Lewis, Stuart Gilman, The ethics challenge in public service: a problem-solving guide, 2nd edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, →ISBN, page 88

   Synonyms:

   pedosexuality