1. the quality of being sexually arousing or pleasurable or the condition of being sexually aroused.

2. a preoccupation with or susceptibility to sexual excitement.

3. the use of sexually arousing themes, images, or suggestions in entertainment or the arts.

4. in psychoanalytic theory, the pleasurable sensations associated not only with stimulation of the genitals but also with nongenital parts of the body, such as the mouth or anus (see anal eroticism; oral eroticism). Also called erotism. See also autoeroticism; erotization. —erotic adj.