Perve

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. To look at someone with strong sexual interest or curiosity ; a person who exhibits such behavior or has such inclinations ; to objectify others in a way considered inappropriate or creepy
2. To stare or ogle with overt or excessive sexual attention ; an individual characterized by unconventional or socially disapproved sexual desires ; the act of being lecherous or voyeuristic toward others
3. To observe with a prurient or lustful gaze ; a person who harbors or displays deviant sexual tendencies ; engaging in behavior that makes others uncomfortable due to suggestive or intrusive attention

Etymology: "Perve" is an alternative spelling of "perv," and both are clipped forms of "pervert," a word that once meant something quite different. Long before it took on sexual connotations, "pervert" meant to turn someone away from the right course, or to twist the sense of something, and the clipping is the modern slang that has shortened it to a casual, often teasing label for someone who stares too long or behaves inappropriately. The shortened form is the part of the story worth noticing. Clipping is a common way English trims longer words into informal ones, as with "exam" from "examination" or "fridge" from "refrigerator." Here the clipped version has narrowed the older, broader sense of "pervert" down to a single, specific meaning, so the word's history now runs from a general idea of corruption or distortion to a loud, slangy label for a leering onlooker.

Synonyms: peep, voyeur, ogler, rubberneck, onlooker

Antonyms: ignore, disregard, avoid, ignore