pansexual

adjective

pan·​sex·​u·​al ˌpan-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wəl How to pronounce pansexual (audio)
-shəl
1
: of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation
Pansexual people are attracted to all kinds of people, regardless of their gender, sex or presentation.Farhana Khan
also : not solely gay (see gay entry 1 sense 1a) or straight (see straight entry 1 sense 3h)
The famous 0-6 scale … was devised to chart sexual proclivities, from purely heterosexual (0) to purely homosexual (6). Kinsey felt humans are pansexual (most falling somewhere between 0 and 6), and restrictions imposed by society and religion lead to sexual maladjustments. Lisa C. Hickman
2
: tending to suffuse all experience and conduct with erotic feeling
Although Whitman's impulses were homoerotic, he was pansexual in the sense that he could find the driving force of something such as sex in almost everything …Peter Craven
pansexual noun
A pansexual is someone who can be attracted to males, females, transgender people and those who identify as non-binary (not female or male). Mel Evans
pansexuality noun
or less commonly pansexualism
"I am pansexual," he [Chris Stuckmann] admitted towards the end of the 56-minute clip. "If you don't know what pansexuality is, essentially you are attracted to all genders, and that's me." Sam Damshenas

Examples of pansexual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Brady, who came out last year as pansexual, stars alongside his ex-wife and business partner, Mandie Taketa, their 21-year-old daughter, Maile Brady, and Taketa’s life partner Jason Fordham and their son. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 With five overall challenge wins and no bottom placements, winner Cristian Peralta dominated the competition from episode 1, but also secured a unique place among the Drag Race family as a pansexual performer who's married to a woman — and even has a daughter. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2023 What if Love Is Blind featured openly bisexual, asexual, or pansexual people? TIME, 12 Feb. 2024 In their September 2019 cover story for The Advocate, Karamo and Jason opened up about navigating a tough moment in their relationship when Jason came out as pansexual at age 21. Ilana Frost, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024 Pansexual Pride Flag Nobody knows who designed the pansexual pride flag, which first appeared online around 2010.3 The flag consists of three stripes to symbolize pansexuality, which is attraction regardless of gender or attraction to all genders. Claire Gillespie, Health, 13 Dec. 2023 Ghee, who uses he/she/they pronouns, identifies as nonbinary or pansexual. Paul Grein, Billboard, 12 June 2023 Monae has always been unapologetic with their self-expression, especially after boldly coming out as pansexual in 2018. Ashleigh-Rae Thomas, Parents, 8 Dec. 2023 That means a person could be pansexual and demiromantic, for example. David Oliver, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pansexual.' 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

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of pansexual was in 1914

Dictionary Entries Near pansexual

Cite this Entry

“Pansexual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pansexual. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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