heterosexuality
Americannoun
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sexual desire or behavior directed toward people of the other binary gender.
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the state of being sexually attracted only to the other binary gender.
noun
Etymology
Origin of heterosexuality
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.
It’s a presentation, a release valve, an acknowledgement that heterosexuality — for everyone — is not always what it’s cracked up to be.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
Because, unlike straight male comics of the ‘80s, ‘90s and beyond, Jost demonstrates a straight guy who isn’t at all concerned with establishing his heterosexuality in Yang’s presence.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025
“Being LGBTQ, having those labels, does not remove your stupidity, just like heterosexuality does not remove your stupidity,” she told Vanity Fair.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 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
On leaving the university his heterosexuality asserted itself normally.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 Sexual Inversion by Ellis, Havelock
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.
