Meanings
- uncountableThe state of being sexually attracted to intelligence or the human mind.
Sapiosexuality is getting aroused not by the physical appearance of a person, but through his or her intelligence.
2013 May 28, Sunayana Suresh, “Are women attracted to the sapiosexual men?”, in The Times of India2 more examples
So a self-confessed culture vulture is a member of communities on authors, sudoku, films, chocolates and sapiosexuality (sapiosexuals are people who are apparently turned on by intelligence).
2008 August 17, Mohua Das, Malini Banerjee, “Virtual Vanities”, in The Telegraph, CalcuttaI went to friend and psychologist Alejandro Spicker — who's both attractive and smart — and asked him what he thought of sapiosexuality.
2012 May, Carolina Montejo, “Sapiosexuality: The intelligent foreplay”, in Vangardist, page 129
Origin
- Latinsapiens“wise, judicious”
- Englishsapiosexuality
From Latin sapiens (“wise, judicious”) + sexuality or sapiosexual + -ity. Purportedly coined in 1998.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic الْاِنْجِذَاب لِلْأَذْكِيَاءِ
- الْاِنْجِذَاب لِلْأَذْكِيَاءِ (al-injiḏāb lilʔaḏkiyāʔi)Translations
Chinese Mandarin 智性戀 /智性恋
- 智性戀 /智性恋 (zhìxìngliàn)Translations
Finnish sapioseksuaalisuus
- sapioseksuaalisuusTranslations
French sapiosexualité
- sapiosexualitéTranslations
German Sapiosexualität
- SapiosexualitätTranslations
Spanish sapiosexualidad
- sapiosexualidadTranslations
Cite this entry
sapiosexuality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sapiosexuality
“sapiosexuality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sapiosexuality. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sapiosexuality,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sapiosexuality.
Source: sapiosexuality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.