homosexual
Americanadjective
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Often Disparaging and Offensive. sexually attracted to people of one's own sex or gender; gay.
homosexual couples.
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Often Disparaging and Offensive. of or relating to sexual desire or behavior directed toward people of one's own sex or gender.
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Archaic. of, relating to, or noting the same sex.
She gave birth to homosexual twins.
noun
noun
adjective
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of or relating to homosexuals or homosexuality
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of or relating to the same sex
Sensitive Note
Up until 1973, homosexuality was listed in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), psychiatry's standard reference on the classification of mental illness. People aware of this former categorization feel that the term homosexual still carries a negative connotation. And many feel that this word places undue emphasis on sexual activity, or that it sounds overly clinical. In fact, homosexual as an adjective and noun has been mostly replaced by gay except in medical or other formal contexts. People who still use homosexual are usually unaware that the term is a sensitive one, although some do use it with intent to cause offense. However, not all members of the gay community object to it. See also gay.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of homosexual
Explanation
Homosexual is a noun and adjective. Either way, it has to do with people who are attracted to members of the same sex. Homosexuals are attracted to people of their own sex in romantic and sexual ways. A lesbian is specifically a homosexual woman, and the word gay applies to men and women who are homosexual, though more often men. Homosexual people have faced a lot of prejudice, just like women, African-Americans, and other groups. But society is working to support homosexual people as equal citizens with equal rights.
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.
See Examples For:
Jonathan Rauch, who describes himself as an “atheist homosexual Jew” and therefore has no dog in this fight, sees it more clearly than most Christians do.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
A not-so-closeted homosexual, he also waxes lyrical about his infatuation with a young Yale student, played by a bottle-blonde Margaret Qualley, and shares drinks with "Charlotte's Web" author E.B.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Strict gender separation common to early 19th century social structures underwent unexpected transformation after the binaries of heterosexual and homosexual were invented in 1869.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2025
Like any burgeoning homosexual child, I came equipped with the gay starter pack that included talkativeness and flamboyance.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2025
Logically, I knew that loving books and writing did not make me homosexual, but more and more I hid those interests.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
The high court voted 8-3 to extend the protections of an existing law prohibiting racial discrimination in hiring, housing and public access to homosexuals and transgender people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
“It is simplistic to presume,” they wrote dryly, “that when homosexuals become Christian, they automatically become heterosexuals.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
Cohabiting homosexuals also can be permitted to be wedding witnesses, according to the document.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
Your first clue this isn’t the Disney version is the opening title card, which proclaims the thing was “bravely written by two homosexuals,” helpfully adding that it’s the first thing ever written by homosexuals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
He explains that while we might know that Jews were forced to wear yellow stars, we may not know that homosexuals were forced to wear triangles.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
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.
