heterosexuality

American  

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

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.

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heterosexuality British  

/ ˌhɛtərəʊˌsɛksjʊˈælɪtɪ /

noun

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

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heterosexuality Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of heterosexuality

First recorded in 1895–1900; hetero- + sexuality

Example Sentences

Febos works to dismantle heteronormative stereotypes about love and sex in this book, quoting writer Sara Ahmed: “When you leave heterosexuality, you still live in a heterosexual world.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2025

In the three decades since Martin's study, Almeling said, scholars and advocates have increasingly challenged the presumption of heterosexuality and the categorization of bodies as either male or female.

From Science Daily • Oct. 1, 2023

“I love those two soulful women so much, but I felt the heterosexuality in those lyrics,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2022

In the comics, heterosexuality never feels like the default — there are major and minor queer characters and good and bad queer characters, none of whom are used as tokens.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2022

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