Meanings
- uncountableThe state of being heteroromantic, i.e. romantically attracted to the opposite gender.
Heteronormativity describes the tendencies to assume a gender binary, the alignment of gender with sex, and the expectation of heterosexuality and heteroromanticism.
2015 October, Nathan Chan, “Coming out at University”, in Salterrae, page 42 more examples
Could we gradually replace all of love's traditional characterizing features—monogamy, permanence, heteroromanticism, romantic gender roles, and so on—over time? Would there still be romantic love at the end of that process?
2017, Carrie Jenkins, What Love Is: And What It Could BeHeteroromantics feel this way [attracted] to someone of the opposite [gender]. [...] Eve Peyser, who identifies as a heteroromantic bisexual woman — she dates only men but is sexually attracted to men and women — wrote a piece on heteroromanticism for Mic in 2015.
2017 May, Christiana Lilly, “A Rainbow of Sexuality: Beyond the LGBT”, in The Mirror, page 24
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*sem-
- Proto-Indo-European*sḿ̥teros
- Proto-Hellenic*hə́teros
- Ancient Greekἕτερος (héteros)
- Englishhetero-
- LatinRōma
- LatinRōmānus
- Latinrōmānicus
- Vulgar Latinrōmānicē
- Old Frenchromanz
- Old Frenchromaunt
- Englishromant
- Englishromantic
- Englishheteroromantic
- Englishheteroromanticism
From heteroromantic + -ism.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
heteroromanticism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heteroromanticism
“heteroromanticism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heteroromanticism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heteroromanticism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heteroromanticism.
Source: heteroromanticism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.