heterosexual

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See also: heterosexuál

English

Heterosexual couple kissing

Etymology

From hetero- +‎ -sexual.

Pronunciation

Adjective

heterosexual (comparative more heterosexual, superlative most heterosexual)

  1. (of a person or other animal) Sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex.
    • 2021 November 17, Thai PBS, “Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional”, in Thai PBS World, Bangkok: Thai Public Broadcasting Service, retrieved 2021-11-17:
      Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional: Same-sex marriage in Thailand will have to wait, as the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously today (Wednesday) that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, defining marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, is constitutional.
  2. (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two people of different sex.
    Coordinate terms: gay, homosexual, lesbian, same-sex, single-sex
    • 1983, Raymond J[oseph] Corsini, Anthony J[oseph] Marsella, Personality Theories, Research, & Assessment, Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 348:
      Early Adolescence. This is the high school period between 14 and 17 years of age. This is a confusing and stressful period for the teenager, because sexual impulses are now quite strong in spite of societal sanctions against heterosexual activity.
    • 1994, Martin S[tephen] Weinberg, Colin J[ohn] Williams, Douglas W. Pryor, Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality, New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 43:
      On the average, the [bisexual] women’s first heterosexual attraction and experience (at 11.6 and 14.7 years) occurred before their first homosexual attraction and experience (at 16.9 and 21.4 years).
    • 2015, Arlene Istar Lev, “Resilience in Lesbian and Gay Couples”, in Karen Skerrett, Karen Fergus, editors, Couple Resilience: Emerging Perspectives, Springer, →ISBN, part II (Resilient Processes and Applications to Specific Populations), page 46:
      Attempts at eliminating bias against LGBTQ people through education, academically and clinically, often lead to inclusion practices that are “added-on”, i.e., a family therapy course discusses same-sex couples as an addendum lecture at the end of the course, instead of infusing the material throughout the course. Green and Mitchell (2008) ask their readers to imagine authoring an article entitled “Therapy with Heterosexual Couples.”
  3. (obsolete, medicine) Having a sexual desire for the opposite sex seen as unhealthy, including a proclivity for nonreproductive sex.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

heterosexual (plural heterosexuals)

  1. A heterosexual person, or other heterosexual organism.
    • 2001, John K. Wilson, How the Left Can Win Arguments and Influence People:
      The laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation apply to all people, gay and straight alike. If an antistraight boss starts firing heterosexuals, they're protected.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Catalan

Pronunciation

Adjective

heterosexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural heterosexuals)

  1. heterosexual

Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuals)

  1. heterosexual

Galician

Etymology

From hetero- +‎ sexual.

Adjective

heterosexual m or f (plural heterosexuais)

  1. heterosexual

Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuais)

  1. heterosexual

Antonyms

Derived terms

German

Etymology

Coined by Austro-Hungarian writer, journalist, translator and bibliographer Karl-Maria Kertbeny in 1868, from hetero- +‎ sexual.

Adjective

heterosexual (strong nominative masculine singular heterosexualer, not comparable)

  1. Dated form of heterosexuell.
    Coordinate term: homosexual

Declension

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French hétérosexuel. Equivalent to hetero- +‎ sexual.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌhe.te.ro.sek.suˈal/

Adjective

heterosexual m or n (feminine singular heterosexuală, masculine plural heterosexuali, feminine and neuter plural heterosexuale)

  1. heterosexual

Declension

singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative
indefinite heterosexual heterosexuală heterosexuali heterosexuale
definite heterosexualul heterosexuala heterosexualii heterosexualele
genitive-
dative
indefinite heterosexual heterosexuale heterosexuali heterosexuale
definite heterosexualului heterosexualei heterosexualelor heterosexualilor

Noun

heterosexual m (plural heterosexuali, feminine equivalent heterosexuală)

  1. a heterosexual

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative heterosexual heterosexualul heterosexuali heterosexualii
genitive-dative heterosexual heterosexualului heterosexuali heterosexualilor
vocative heterosexualule heterosexualilor

Spanish

Etymology

From hetero- +‎ sexual.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /eteɾoseɡˈswal/
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: he‧te‧ro‧se‧xual

Adjective

heterosexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural heterosexuales)

  1. heterosexual

Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuales)

  1. heterosexual
    Antonym: homosexual

Derived terms

Further reading