homosexuality

noun ho·mo·sex·u·al·i·ty \ ˌhō-mə-ˌsek-shə-ˈwa-lə-tē \

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Definition of homosexuality

1 : sexual attraction or the tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex : the quality or state of being homosexual

2 : sexual activity with another of the same sex

See homosexuality defined for kids

Recent Examples of homosexuality from the Web

Subramanian Swamy, a prominent lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, said this week that homosexuality was unnatural and against Hindu nationalism.

— NBC News, "Gay sex not an aberration, Indian judge says ahead of ruling on homosexuality ban," 12 July 2018
On Tuesday, the Indian Psychiatric Society called for decriminalization, saying homosexuality was not a disorder.

— New York Times, "India’s Supreme Court Considers Decriminalizing Gay Sex," 10 July 2018
Though homosexuality had been decriminalized in Britain in 1967, being openly gay was still essentially unthinkable, especially for a prominent public figure.

— karen han, Vox, "How A Very English Scandal spins sensationalism into empathy," 7 July 2018
Much of Gadsby's initial jokes are about growing up as a lesbian in Tasmania, where homosexuality was a crime until 1997.

— kathryn lindsay, refinery29.com, "Nanette Is The Netflix Special That's Going To Change Comedy — & The World," 27 June 2018
In both India and Bangladesh, homosexuality is criminalized.

— natasha bach, Fortune, "H&M Has Launched Its First Ever Pride Collection. But Some Items Are Made In Countries Where Being Gay Is Illegal," 20 June 2018
Those class tensions were a major component of the homosexuality issue in Britain.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of “A Very English Scandal” and the Trials of a Closeted Gay Politician," 27 June 2018
Even worse, Ross, as well as a number of other fans and creators, noticed that ads for the Alliance Defending Freedom—an organization that has linked homosexuality to pedophilia—were running on LGBTQ videos.

— louise matsakis, WIRED, "YouTube Will Help Creators Make Money With More Than Just Ads," 21 June 2018
The American Psychiatric Association has also removed homosexuality from its own diagnosis database, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but still includes gender dysphoria.

— sarah klein, Health.com, "Being Transgender Was Considered a Mental Illness by the World Health Organization—But That's Finally Changing," 20 June 2018

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