sexual

From Latin sexuālis, from sexus (“sex”), equivalent to sex +‎ -ual.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.ʃuː.əl/, /ˈsɛk.sju.əl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/, /ˈsɛk.ʃəl/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɛkʃuːəl, -ɛksjuːəl, -ɛkʃəl
• Hyphenation: sex‧ual

sexual (comparative more sexual, superlative most sexual)

1. Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes. [from 17th c.]

   Women face sexual discrimination in the workplace.

2. (biology) Capable of sexual reproduction; sexed, sexuate. [from 19th c.]
3. Pertaining to sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact. [from 18th c.]

   Giving oral sex is my favorite sexual act.

   • 2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1:

     One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools […] as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

   • 2025 January 17, Catherine Pearson, “The Joy — and Awkwardness — of Sober Sex”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “When you’re not numbing out with substances and suddenly you’re face to face with somebody you want to be sexual with, that can be really scary at first,” said Laura Rademacher, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Minneapolis who offers a class on sober sex in her practice.

4. Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessing sexuality. [from 19th c.]

   She's a very sexual woman.

   • 1994, Purity & passion, →ISBN, page 67:

     We don't often think of Jesus as a sexual person, but He certainly was not asexual. He was not just God on earth. He was fully human and […] He was sexual, single, and celibate.

5. Pertaining to sexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexual behaviour or conduct. [from 19th c.]

   a sexual innuendo

   one's sexual preferences

6. (LGBTQ, of a person, rare) Experiencing sexual attraction; not asexual.

   Synonym: allosexual

   • 2016, Kyell Gold, Black Angel, Kyell Gold, →ISBN:

     […] “You know, there are asexuals with sexual partners.” His ears flicked, and he grinned. “There's things both of us can try to do […] ”

   • 2017, T. T. Monday, Double Switch, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, →ISBN, page 98:

     Izzy tells me that at her high school the most useful distinction is not between heterosexuals and homosexuals but between those who are sexual and those who are not. The abstainers call themselves “aces,” short for “asexuals.”

7. (obsolete) Pertaining to the female sex. [17th–19th c.]

   Synonym: feminine

   • 1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, “Observations on the State of Degradation to which Woman is Reduced by Various Causes”, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page 112:

     [T]he inquiry is whether she have reason or not. If she have, which, for a moment, I will take for granted, she was not created merely to be the solace of man, and the sexual should not destroy the human character.

• sex

• Japanese: セクシャル (sekusharu)

• See also Thesaurus:copulation

sexual (plural sexuals)

1. (biology) A species which reproduces by sexual rather than asexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.

   Synonym: eusexual

   Antonym: asexual

2. (LGBTQ) A person who experiences sexual attraction, a person who has interest in or desire for sex (especially as contrasted with an asexual).

   Synonym: allosexual

   Antonym: asexual

   • 2012, Issues in Sexuality and Sexual Behavior Research: 2011 Edition, ScholarlyEditions, →ISBN:

     The findings suggest that asexuality is best conceptualized as a lack of sexual attraction; however, asexuals varied greatly in their experience of sexual response and behavior. Asexuals partnered with sexuals acknowledged having to 'negotiate' sexual activity.

   • 2015, Mark Carrigan, Kristina Gupta, Todd G. Morrison, Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology, Routledge, →ISBN, page 11:

     In this article we use absence of sexual attraction to others as a definition but recognise that this definition is contested. […] [A survey] was also advertised online (without explicitly mentioning asexuality in the advert), thus aiming to reach a mixture of asexuals and sexuals.

• “sexual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “sexual”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• aluxes

From Latin sexuālis.

• IPA^(key): /sekˈswal/ [sekˈswal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: se‧xual

sexual (epicene, plural sexuales)

1. sexual

• sexu

Borrowed from Latin sexuālis. First attested in 1839.^[1]

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [sək.suˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [sek.suˈal]

• Audio (Catalonia):

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sexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural sexuals)

1. sexual

• assetjament sexual
• orientació sexual
• sexualitat
• sexualment

• sexe

• “sexual”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “sexual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sexual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Latin sexuālis.

• IPA^(key): /sɛksuˈal/ [s̺ɛk.s̺uˈɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: se‧xu‧al

sexual m or f (plural sexuais)

1. sexual

• sexualidade
• sexualmente

• sexo

• “sexual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Borrowed from Latin sexuālis.

• IPA^(key): /zɛksuˈaːl/, /sɛksuˈaːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: se‧xu‧al

sexual (strong nominative masculine singular sexualer, comparative sexualer, superlative am sexualsten)

1. (uncommon) sexual

• sexualisieren

• sexuell

• “sexual” in Duden online
• “sexual” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

From Latin sexuālis.

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

sexual m (feminine singular sexuala, masculine plural sexuals, feminine plural sexualas)

1. sexual

• sexualitat

• sèxe

Learned borrowing from Latin sexuālis. By surface analysis, sexo +‎ -ual.

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /sɛ.ksuˈaw/
• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: se‧xu‧al

sexual m or f (plural sexuais, not comparable)

1. sexual

• “sexual”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

From Latin sexuālis. By surface analysis, sex +‎ -ual.

• IPA^(key): [seksuˈal]

sexual m or n (feminine singular sexuală, masculine plural sexuali, feminine and neuter plural sexuale)

1. sexual

• “sexual”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Borrowed from Late Latin sexuālis.

• IPA^(key): /seɡˈswal/ [seɣ̞ˈswal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: se‧xual

sexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural sexuales)

1. sexual (pertaining to the sex of an organism)
2. sexual (pertaining to having sex)
3. sexual (pertaining to sexual orientation or identity)
4. sexual (characterized by sexual feelings or behaviors)

• “sexual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024