conversion therapy
noun
plural conversion therapies
: the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birth
Note: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis and as being both ineffective and harmful.
Conversion therapy is both pointless and painful. At its best, it can inflict considerable psychological damage on a child without changing their sexual orientation or gender identity whatsoever. At its worst, it can lead to suicide …—
Samantha Allen
Samantha AllenMomentum has been building in legislative sessions this spring for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.—Susan Miller
Susan Millercalled also reparative therapy
Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The only slight difference is that Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is fleeing from a conversion therapy camp with her lesbian lover Graham (Clea DuVall) while Sally (Marilyn) is fleeing from a family of cannibals in the East Texas countryside.
—James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
Coerced into a conversion therapy program, Jared clashes with its hostile leader (Joel Edgerton), igniting a transformative journey of self-acceptance.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The Court is expected to make rulings on other key LGBTQ+ rights cases in its upcoming term, including whether to overturn Colorado's conversion therapy ban.
—Andrew Stanton
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Represented by the Christian legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, Chiles argued in an appeal to the Supreme Court in November that the state’s law against conversion therapy violates her and her clients’ religious beliefs and free speech rights.
—Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 26 Aug. 2025
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James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
Coerced into a conversion therapy program, Jared clashes with its hostile leader (Joel Edgerton), igniting a transformative journey of self-acceptance.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The Court is expected to make rulings on other key LGBTQ+ rights cases in its upcoming term, including whether to overturn Colorado's conversion therapy ban.
—Andrew Stanton
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Represented by the Christian legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, Chiles argued in an appeal to the Supreme Court in November that the state’s law against conversion therapy violates her and her clients’ religious beliefs and free speech rights.
—Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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