heterosexual

adjective het·ero·sex·u·al \ ˌhe-tə-rō-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wəl , -ˈsek-shəl \

Updated on: 10 May 2018

1 a : of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward the opposite sex

b : of, relating to, or involving sexual intercourse between individuals of opposite sex

2 : of or relating to different sexes

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heterosexuality

play \ˌhe-tə-rō-ˌsek-shə-ˈwa-lə-tē\ noun

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heterosexually

play \ˌhe-tə-rō-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wə-lē, -ˈsek-shə-lē\ adverb

See heterosexual defined for English-language learners

See heterosexual defined for kids

Recent Examples of heterosexual from the Web

To top it all off, all three of our sons have turned out to be frustratingly heterosexual.

— billy maddalon - contributing columnist, observer editorial board, charlotteobserver, "'Values' bullies are killing LGBTQ children | Charlotte Observer," 3 May 2018
The reverse was true for women: LGBQ women were 18% more likely than heterosexual women to stay in STEM.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "STEM is losing male LGBQ undergrads," 14 Mar. 2018
First, the study sample was overwhelmingly heterosexual (98 percent).

— cari romm, The Cut, "This Study on First Kisses Is Basically a Teen Movie Script," 26 Feb. 2018
In piece after piece, Albee questioned or, more precisely, challenged the role that having a child plays in a heterosexual woman’s idea of herself.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "A Lost Opportunity in “Three Tall Women”," 2 Apr. 2018
Especially with Rylee there—Rylee, who had comforted me through so many failed heterosexual crushes.

— katie heaney, Seventeen, "My First Queer Kiss Didn't Really Tell Me Whether or Not I Was Gay," 27 Mar. 2018
This was true for 32 percent of gay and lesbian students, compared to 3 percent of heterosexual students.

— NBC News, "Teens who hide sexual orientation have higher suicide risk, study finds," 20 Mar. 2018
Overall, 71% of heterosexual students and 64% of LGBQ students stayed in STEM.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "STEM is losing male LGBQ undergrads," 14 Mar. 2018
Like so many men of his generation, Zeke defines his adult image of heterosexual love in opposition to this scene.

— michael friedrich, The New Republic, "Men and Apparitions Dissects A Male Feminist’s Crisis," 9 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heterosexual.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of heterosexual

International Scientific Vocabulary

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1892

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

heterosexual

noun

: a heterosexual person

Recent Examples of heterosexual from the Web

National lawmakers are negotiating a revision of the criminal code, including provisions pushed by Islamic parties that would imprison gay people or unmarried cohabiting heterosexuals.

— anita rachman, WSJ, "Indonesia’s Islamic Floggings Will Move Indoors Where Kids Can’t See," 12 Apr. 2018
Now the 27-year-old delegate argued against him, never mentioning his name, urging a ban on the practice of trying to convert young gay, lesbian or transgender people into heterosexuals.

— erin cox, baltimoresun.com, "Maryland delegate says her parents, including a state senator, pushed her to use conversion therapy," 5 Apr. 2018
He has been counted as among the first to demonstrate the AIDS virus could spread among heterosexuals, and argued early in the epidemic that AIDS wasn't a threat only to gay men and injection drug users.

— mike stobbe, chicagotribune.com, "Leading AIDS researcher selected as new CDC director," 22 Mar. 2018
In this framework, there is one original sinner: white male heterosexuals — either alive or haunting us from the grave in the form of the Dead White Men studied in old Western Civilization courses.

— joshua mitchell, National Review, "The Identity-Politics Death Grip," 26 Oct. 2017
For heterosexuals, however, the outcome of the second and third hypotheses would be the same.

— The Economist, "Best matesWhat eyes and odours reveal about sexual attraction," 12 Oct. 2017
In 1993, when New York City began a domestic partnership registry to extend housing, health insurance and other benefits to gays, lesbians and unmarried heterosexuals, Ms. Windsor and Dr. Spyer were among the first to sign up.

— robert d. mcfadden, New York Times, "Edith Windsor, Whose Same-Sex Marriage Fight Led to Landmark Ruling, Dies at 88," 12 Sep. 2017
At the same time, online dating was veering toward one-night-stands or afternoon hookups through mobile apps like Grindr (for gay men) and Tinder (mostly for heterosexuals).

— ann powers, Billboard, "Critic Ann Powers on How Beyoncé Owned Her Sexuality — and Became Pop's Reigning Queen," 7 Sep. 2017
But the state has seen an uptick in gonorrhea cases among heterosexuals under 25, especially women.

— lynne terry, OregonLive.com, "Gonorrhea epidemic hits Oregon," 13 July 2017