Etymology: Gk, nekros + philein, to love. 1 a morbid liking for being with dead bodies. 2 a morbid desire to have sexual contact with a dead body, usually of men to perform a sexual act with a dead woman. necrophile, necrophiliac, n. Sexuoeroticism that hinges on fantasies about or actual sexual interactions with a corpse; the fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviours cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.