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sexual orientation

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noun

one's natural preference in sexual partners; predilection for homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.

Origin of sexual orientation

First recorded in 1990–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
sexual orientation in Medicine

sexual orientation

n.

The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. Replaces sexual preference in most contemporary uses.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
sexual orientation in Culture

sexual orientation

Preference for sexual activity with people of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both. (See bisexuality, heterosexuality, and homosexuality.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.