heterosexuality

[ het-er-uh-sek-shoo-al-i-teeor, especially British, -seks-yoo- ]

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of heterosexuality¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; hetero- + sexuality

Example Sentences

The bill would remove exclusive words and broaden definitions, such as including more than heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality in sexual orientation.

From Washington Blade

Our research indicates that one outcome of more than a century of feminist activism and progress Advertisement may be women’s increasing resistance to compulsory heterosexuality and its consequences.

From No Straight News

The shift is more pronounced among women who are moving away from exclusive heterosexuality, and less obvious among women who report they are exclusively heterosexual.

From No Straight News

However, women ages 18 to 29 are increasingly rejecting exclusive heterosexuality and describing their sexual orientation in other ways.

From No Straight News

As a result, more women under 30 are moving away from exclusive heterosexuality than men in the same age group.

From No Straight News

Maybe the wheel will turn again, and heterosexuality will come to seem edgy.

From The Daily Beast

They started attending a Mormon support group that encouraged LGBT people to “come back to God” and return to heterosexuality.

From The Daily Beast

And the devil of heterosexuality is definitely in the details.

From The Daily Beast

Most female pop stars play directly into the “invisible rightness” that surrounds heterosexuality.

From The Daily Beast

She overenunciates her heterosexuality, like a mother teaching her daughter how to say “bad boy” for the very first time.

From The Daily Beast

On leaving the university his heterosexuality asserted itself normally.

From Project Gutenberg