heterosexuality

American  

[het-er-uh-sek-shoo-al-i-tee, -seks-yoo-] / ˌhɛt ər əˌsɛk ʃuˈæl ɪ ti, -ˌsɛks ju- /

noun

1. sexual desire or behavior directed toward people of the other binary gender.

2. the state of being sexually attracted only to the other binary gender.

---

heterosexuality British  

/ ˌhɛtərəʊˌsɛksjʊˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. sexual attraction to or sexual relations with a person or persons of the opposite sex Compare homosexuality

---

heterosexuality Cultural  

1. Sexual attraction between a male and a female. (Compare bisexuality and homosexuality.)

---

Etymology

Origin of heterosexuality

First recorded in 1895–1900; hetero- + sexuality

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heterosexuality

“It made me think about my own appreciation for the experience of male heterosexuality and how much it’s been commodified.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Heteropessimism exists alongside heterosexuality not because being straight is terrible or embarrassing or out of fashion, but because it is, first and foremost, an institution — one that in many places remains dangerous to spurn.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

Taylor acknowledges that heteropessimism, a term used by Asa Seresin in a 2019 piece in The New Inquiry, isn’t the same as actually denying or refusing to engage with heterosexuality.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

He likes what he likes, and if you think his taste is weird, he finds conventional heterosexuality to be even weirder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2024

The paradox is that while the choice of homosexuality over heterosexuality is facilitated by the pragmatic context of the civilization of illiteracy, the activism of homosexuality solicits recognition within the structures characteristic of literacy.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai