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kleptomania
(redirected from kleptomaniac)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
kleptomania (klĕp'təmā`nēə) [Gr.,=craze for stealing], irresistible compulsion to steal, motivated by neurotic impulse rather than material need. No specific cause is known. The condition is considered generally as the result of some underlying emotional disturbance rather than as a form of neurosis in itself. Legally kleptomania is not classified as insanity, and individuals are held responsible except when complete lack of control over their actions can be definitely established.
kleptomania
Psychol a strong impulse to steal, esp when there is no obvious motivation

kleptomania [‚klep·tə′mā·nē·ə]
(psychology)
An obsessive desire to steal; stolen objects are usually petty and useless, being of symbolic value only.


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At one level, Fisher was a harmless kleptomaniac, (82) who had lived in south-west Scotland for years before he was finally prosecuted before the Justiciary Court.
Our expectation is that one's genetic makeup might make one more inclined to be an arsonist, or might make one more inclined to be a kleptomaniac.
His roommate, Trey, is the blueblood son of a congressman, and Vince is delighted to be matched up with someone so respectable--until he learns that Trey is a kleptomaniac.
 
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