sexual

[sek-shoo-uh l or, esp. British, seks-yoo-]

See more synonyms for sexual on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of, relating to, or for sex: sexual matters; sexual aids.
occurring between or involving the sexes: sexual relations.
having sexual organs or reproducing by processes involving both sexes.

Origin of sexual

1645–55; < Late Latin sexuālis, equivalent to sexu(s) sex + -ālis -al¹

Related formssex·u·al·ly, adverban·ti·sex·u·al, adjectivean·ti·sex·u·al·ly, adverbnon·sex·u·al, adjective, nounnon·sex·u·al·ly, adverbun·sex·u·al, adjectiveun·sex·u·al·ly, adverb

-sexual

a combining form extracted from homosexual and heterosexual, used to describe a person's sexual orientation, identity, or preferences:pansexual;polysexual.
a combining form extracted from metrosexual, used to describe a person's lifestyle, appearance, or way of dressing with regard to attracting or choosing a romantic partner:vegansexual;lumbersexual.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sexual

reproductive, intimate, erotic, carnal, passionate, sensual, animal, bestial, fleshly, loving, sharing, voluptuous, wanton, animalistic, generative, genital, genitive, procreative, venereal

Examples from the Web for sexual

Contemporary Examples of sexual

But he, like many people using dating apps whatever their sexual identity, remains stoutly positive.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
Yeah, the “Giant man-puppy” that is Gronkowski won't hold a sexual candle to the blue-eyed dreamboat.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
Early on, the sexual protagonist complains that her Molson-drinking husband is pretty much an incompetent Neanderthal.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
It is not only clerics and Islamic ideologues who use offensive words and images to describe the sexual life of Westerners.
50 Shades of Iran: The Mullahs’ Kinky Fantasies about Sex in the West
IranWire, Shima Sharabi
January 1, 2015
The father, Jean Paul Kruse, was later charged with rape and sexual abuse.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking
Tina Traster
December 30, 2014

Historical Examples of sexual

It was social inequality which gave rise to sexual vices as to all the other vices.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka
What result will her freedom have on the sexual relationships?
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
Woman is the predominant partner in the sexual relationship.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
It is in the sexual passions we must seek the origins of all social growth.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
Hardly is the sexual act consummated than all vanishes like a dream.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for sexual

sexual

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by sex or sexuality
(of reproduction) characterized by the union of male and female gametesCompare asexual (def. 2)

Derived Formssexually, adverb

Word Origin for sexual

C17: from Late Latin sexuālis; see sex

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sexual

adj.

1650s, "of or pertaining to the fact of being male or female," from Late Latin sexualis "relating to sex," from Latin sexus (see sex (n.)). Meaning "pertaining to copulation or generation" is from 1766; sexual intercourse attested by 1778; sexual orientation by 1967; sexual harassment by 1975. Sexual revolution attested by 1962. Sexual politics is from 1970. Related: Sexually.

sexual in Medicine

sexual

[sĕk′shōō-əl]

adj.

Of, relating to, involving, or characteristic of sex, sexuality, the sexes, or the sex organs and their functions.
Implying or symbolizing erotic desires or activity.
Of, relating to, or involving the union of male and female gametes.

Related formssex′u•al•ly adv.