Meaning & use
pedophile
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
An adult whose sexual attraction is directed mainly at children who have not yet reached puberty.
Grammar: Refers to the attraction, not necessarily to an act; offences are usually described as child abuse.
Patterns
- a convicted pedophile
The word pedophile describes a type of attraction, and not everyone with it commits a crime.
Courts treat any adult who abuses a child as a criminal, whether or not a clinician calls him a pedophile.
Journalists are urged to use the term carefully and not to apply it loosely.
Word forms
| plural | pedophiles |
|---|
Common combinations
- convicted pedophile
- A convicted pedophile is barred from working in schools.
- suspected pedophile
- Police arrested a suspected pedophile after a tip from parents.
- pedophile ring
- The investigation broke up an online pedophile ring.
- register of pedophiles
- The country keeps a register of pedophiles released from prison.
Synonyms and how they differ
- child molester
- Child molester describes someone who has committed abuse, while pedophile describes the attraction itself.
- sex offender
- Sex offender is a broad legal category covering many crimes, while pedophile is much narrower.
Word family
- pedophilia noun
- the condition of being sexually attracted to young children
- pedophilic adjective
- relating to pedophilia
- paedophile noun
- the British spelling of pedophile
Commonly confused: pedophile or pedophilia?
pedophile vs pedophilia
Pedophilia is the condition, while a pedophile is the person. Do not mix up the noun forms.
Practice
Which spelling is standard in American English?
Choose one answer.
American English spells the word pedophile with ph, from Greek roots. 'Paedophile' is the British form, and 'pedofilo' is Spanish or Italian.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pedophile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.