sexuality
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being sexual
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preoccupation with or involvement in sexual matters
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the possession of sexual potency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sexuality
Explanation
The noun sexuality can refer to sexual matters of all kinds. It often describes having sexual feelings. A novel about a teenager growing up may examine the awakening sexuality of its main character. Sexuality also describes a person's sexual preferences and orientation — meaning whether you're gay or straight. Sexuality can refer to erotic experiences, but it can also be used broadly to refer to how organisms — whether human or animal — reproduce. There are scientists who exclusively study sexuality, from the mating habits of animals to the peculiarities of how humans pair up.
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.
People fleeing persecution because of their political beliefs, gender or sexuality, and how they pray will face certain peril.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026
Karen Usher was 21 when she joined the Royal Air Force in 1990, and says years of feeling forced to hide her sexuality left her suffering a "mini-breakdown" while deployed in Italy.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
“Not only is male sexuality more on a spectrum than people suppose, but bisexuality itself is also a spectrum,” Savin-Williams says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Given the group’s commitment to costumed stage personas, the mixed sexuality of their members, and their name, the Village People came to represent the confluence of masculinity and queerness.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
Our eating habits, our conflicts and our sexuality are all the result of the way our hunter-gatherer minds interact with our current post-industrial environment, with its mega-cities, aeroplanes, telephones and computers.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
