bisexual

adjective

bi·​sex·​u·​al (ˌ)bī-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wəl How to pronounce bisexual (audio)
-shəl
1
a
see usage paragraph below : of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's same sex and of the opposite sex
also : of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's own gender identity and of other gender identities
b
biology : possessing characters of both sexes and especially both male and female reproductive structures : hermaphroditic
Usually, the sexes are separate but some plants bear bisexual flowers at different times of the year and these may suddenly become exclusively female.Stephen K-M. Tim
2
: of, relating to, involving, or characteristic of both sexes
A number of insects combine the advantages of parthenogenesis with those of bisexual reproduction using an alternation of generations.R. F. Chapman
The Bionic Woman of the television serial of the seventies … has the bisexual name of Jamie Summers.Marina Warner
bisexual noun
bisexually adverb
Usage of Bisexual

While educational and advocacy groups tend to define bisexual broadly as applying to sexual or romantic attraction to members of one's own gender identity as well as to members of other gender identities, the older, narrower application describing attraction to male and female people persists among English speakers, aided, no doubt, by the word's morphology: the prefix bi- means "two." Note that while the broader meaning of bisexual can be understood as occupying the same semantic territory as pansexual, there are people who identify as one but not the other, as well as people who identify as both.

Examples of bisexual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Gay and bisexual men were also more likely to have reported STDs. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 Data shows that bisexual adults were the second largest group (following those identifying as straight) to report long COVID symptoms, with 8.5 million having symptoms last 3 months or longer. Sara Chernikoff Janet Loehrke usa Today, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024 Ramírez, who is bisexual and came out as non-binary in 2020, had pitched making her character bisexual to showrunner Shonda Rhimes. Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2024 Carey Mulligan’s Felicia Montealegre Who’s listening: Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) Subtext: Sidelined for years by her glamorous, bisexual husband, Felicia is fed up. Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024 The researchers posited that these correlations could be an evolutionary explanation for why bisexual alleles and behavior persist in the human population. Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2024 Worldwide, protection of gay rights is intricately linked to control of H.I.V. Gay and bisexual men living in countries that enforce laws criminalizing homosexuality are 12 times as likely to be living with H.I.V. as those in the rest of the world, according to a recent U.N. report. Apoorva Mandavilli Esther Ruth Mbabazi, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2024 Ban on gay and bisexual men donating In the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, blood donations were not able to screen for HIV, which led to some cases of HIV via transfusion. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2023 Public domain Thanks to Our Flag Means Death and Black Sails, people sometimes assume that all pirates were gay or bisexual. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bisexual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of bisexual was in 1793

Dictionary Entries Near bisexual

Cite this Entry

“Bisexual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bisexual. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bisexual

adjective
bi·​sex·​u·​al (ˈ)bī-ˈseksh-(ə-)wəl How to pronounce bisexual (audio)
-ˈsek-shəl
1
: possessing characters of or having sexual desire for both sexes
2
: of, relating to, or involving two sexes
bisexual noun

Medical Definition

bisexual

1 of 2 adjective
1
a
: possessing characters of both sexes and especially both male and female reproductive structures : hermaphroditic
b
: of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to individuals of one's same sex and of the opposite sex
also : of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's own gender identity and of other gender identities
2
: of, relating to, or involving two sexes
bisexual reproduction
bisexuality noun
plural bisexualities

bisexual

2 of 2 noun
: a bisexual individual

More from Merriam-Webster on bisexual

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