sexuality
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being sexual
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preoccupation with or involvement in sexual matters
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the possession of sexual potency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sexuality
Explanation
The noun sexuality can refer to sexual matters of all kinds. It often describes having sexual feelings. A novel about a teenager growing up may examine the awakening sexuality of its main character. Sexuality also describes a person's sexual preferences and orientation — meaning whether you're gay or straight. Sexuality can refer to erotic experiences, but it can also be used broadly to refer to how organisms — whether human or animal — reproduce. There are scientists who exclusively study sexuality, from the mating habits of animals to the peculiarities of how humans pair up.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jade S. Sasser is an associate professor in the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies at UC Riverside.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024
“He wasn’t invested in hiding that he had been a woman,” said Brenda Marston, curator of Cornell’s Human Sexuality Collection.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023
During the panel at Columbia Law, Roderick Ferguson, Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and American Studies at Yale University warned against the "denuding of African American studies of the things that degrade."
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2023
“Things went amazing,” Ezra Totten, student leader of the Gender Sexuality Alliance at Burlington High School, said of Friday night’s event, which also included participants from South Burlington High School.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 16, 2021
Remarks on the Final Causes of the Sexuality of Plants, etc., vol. ii., pp. 85-107.
From Life of Charles Darwin by Bettany, G. T. (George Thomas)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
