sexual

comparative more sexual · superlative most sexual

1. Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes.First known use 17th c.

   Women face sexual discrimination in the workplace.

2. biologyCapable of sexual reproduction; sexed, sexuate.First known use 19th c.
3. Pertaining to sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact.First known use 18th c.

   Giving oral sex is my favorite sexual act.

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   The church was tighening up on matters sexual. Until the middle of the tenth century it had been quite routine for priests to be married.

   1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 169

   One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools[…]as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

   2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1

   “When you’re not numbing out with substances and suddenly you’re face to face with somebody you want to be sexual with, that can be really scary at first,” said Laura Rademacher, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Minneapolis who offers a class on sober sex in her practice.

   2025 January 17, Catherine Pearson, “The Joy — and Awkwardness — of Sober Sex”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

4. Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessing sexuality.First known use 19th c.

   She's a very sexual woman.

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   We don't often think of Jesus as a sexual person, but He certainly was not asexual. He was not just God on earth. He was fully human and […] He was sexual, single, and celibate.

   1994, Purity & passion, →ISBN, page 67

5. Pertaining to sexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexual behaviour or conduct.First known use 19th c.

   a sexual innuendo

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   one's sexual preferences

6. rareExperiencing sexual attraction; not asexual.

   […] “You know, there are asexuals with sexual partners.” His ears flicked, and he grinned. “There's things both of us can try to do[…]”

   2016, Kyell Gold, Black Angel, Kyell Gold, →ISBN

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   Izzy tells me that at her high school the most useful distinction is not between heterosexuals and homosexuals but between those who are sexual and those who are not. The abstainers call themselves “aces,” short for “asexuals.”

   2017, T. T. Monday, Double Switch, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, →ISBN, page 98

   Synonyms: allosexual

7. obsoletePertaining to the female sex.First known use 17th–19th c.

   [T]he inquiry is whether she have reason or not. If she have, which, for a moment, I will take for granted, she was not created merely to be the solace of man, and the sexual should not destroy the human character.

   1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, “Observations on the State of Degradation to which Woman is Reduced by Various Causes”, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC, page 112

   Synonyms: feminine

plural sexuals

1. biologyA species which reproduces by sexual rather than asexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.

   Synonyms: eusexual · Antonyms: asexual

2. A person who experiences sexual attraction, a person who has interest in or desire for sex (especially as contrasted with an asexual).

   The findings suggest that asexuality is best conceptualized as a lack of sexual attraction; however, asexuals varied greatly in their experience of sexual response and behavior. Asexuals partnered with sexuals acknowledged having to 'negotiate' sexual activity.

   2012, Issues in Sexuality and Sexual Behavior Research: 2011 Edition, ScholarlyEditions, →ISBN

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   In this article we use absence of sexual attraction to others as a definition but recognise that this definition is contested. […] [A survey] was also advertised online (without explicitly mentioning asexuality in the advert), thus aiming to reach a mixture of asexuals and sexuals.

   2015, Mark Carrigan, Kristina Gupta, Todd G. Morrison, Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology, Routledge, →ISBN, page 11

   Synonyms: allosexual · Antonyms: asexual