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 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

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

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

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

On leaving the university his heterosexuality asserted itself normally.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 Sexual Inversion by Ellis, Havelock