FromLatinsexuālis, fromsexus(“sex”), equivalent tosex +‎-ual.

• (UK)IPA^(key):/ˈsɛk.ʃuː.əl/,/ˈsɛk.sju.əl/
• (US)IPA^(key):/ˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/,/ˈsɛk.ʃəl/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛkʃuːəl
• Hyphenation:sex‧ual

sexual (comparativemoresexual,superlativemostsexual)

1. Arising from the fact of beingmale orfemale; pertaining tosex orgender, or to the social relations between the sexes.[from 17th c.]

   Women facesexual discrimination in the workplace.

2. (biology) Capable ofsexual reproduction;sexed,sexuate.[from 19th c.]
3. Pertaining tosexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact.[from 18th c.]

   Giving oral sex is my favoritesexual act.

   • 2013 July 19,Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, inThe Guardian Weekly, volume189, number 6, page 1:

     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 tosexual violence.

4. Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessingsexuality.[from 19th c.]

   She's a verysexual woman.

   • 1994,Purity & passion,→ISBN, page67:

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

5. Pertaining tosexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexualbehaviour orconduct.[from 19th c.]

   asexual innuendo

   one'ssexual preferences

6. (LGBTQ, of a person,rare) Experiencing sexual attraction; notasexual.

   Synonym:allosexual

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

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

   • 2017, T. T. Monday,Double Switch, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard,→ISBN, page98:

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

7. (obsolete) Pertaining to thefemale sex.[17th–19th c.]

   Synonym:feminine

   • 1791 (date written),Mary Wollstonecraft, “Observations on the State of Degradation to which Woman is Reduced by Various Causes”, inA Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London:[…]J[oseph] Johnson, […], published1792,→OCLC,page112:

     [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 thesexual should not destroy the human character.

• sex

• Japanese:セクシャル(sekusharu)

• See alsoThesaurus:copulation

sexual (pluralsexuals)

1. (biology) A species which reproduces by sexual rather than asexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.

   Synonym:eusexual

   Antonym:asexual

2. (LGBTQ) A person who experiencessexualattraction, a person who has interest in or desire forsex(especially as contrasted with anasexual).

   Synonym:allosexual

   Antonym:asexual

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

     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 withsexuals acknowledged having to 'negotiate' sexual activity.

   • 2015, Mark Carrigan, Kristina Gupta, Todd G. Morrison,Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology, Routledge,→ISBN, page11:

     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 andsexuals.

• “sexual”, inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney,Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “sexual”, inThe Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,→OCLC.

• aluxes

FromLatinsexuālis.

• IPA^(key):/sekˈswal/[sekˈswal]
• Rhymes:-al
• Syllabification:se‧xual

sexual (epicene,pluralsexuales)

1. sexual

• sexu

Borrowed fromLatinsexuālis. First attested in 1839.^[1]

• IPA^(key):(Central,Balearic)[sək.suˈal]
• IPA^(key):(Valencia)[sek.suˈal]

sexual m orf (masculine and feminine pluralsexuals)

1. sexual

• assetjament sexual
• orientació sexual
• sexualitat
• sexualment

• sexe

• “sexual” inDiccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició,Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sexual” inDiccionari normatiu valencià,Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sexual” inDiccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

FromLatinsexuālis.

• IPA^(key):/sɛksuˈal/[s̺ɛk.s̺uˈɑɫ]
• Rhymes:-al
• Hyphenation:se‧xu‧al

sexual m orf (pluralsexuais)

1. sexual

• sexualidade
• sexualmente

• sexo

• “sexual”, inDicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña:Royal Galician Academy,2012–2025

Borrowed fromLatinsexuālis.

• IPA^(key):/zɛksuˈaːl/,/sɛksuˈaːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation:se‧xu‧al

sexual (strong nominative masculine singularsexualer,comparativesexualer,superlativeamsexualsten)

1. (uncommon)sexual

• sexualisieren

• sexuell

• “sexual” inDuden online
• “sexual” inDigitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

FromLatinsexuālis.

• Audio(Languedoc):

  (file)

sexual m (feminine singularsexuala,masculine pluralsexuals,feminine pluralsexualas)

1. sexual

• sexualitat

• sèxe

Learned borrowing fromLatinsexuālis. Bysurface analysis,sexo +‎-ual.

• (Northeast Brazil)IPA^(key):/sɛ.ksuˈaw/
• Rhymes:(Portugal)-al,(Brazil)-aw
• Hyphenation:se‧xu‧al

sexual m orf (pluralsexuais,comparable,comparativemaissexual,superlativeomaissexualorsexualíssimo)

1. sexual

• sexualidade
• sexualmente

• “sexual”, inDicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam,2008–2025

FromLatinsexuālis. Bysurface analysis,sex +‎-ual.

• IPA^(key):[seksuˈal]

sexual m orn (feminine singularsexuală,masculine pluralsexuali,feminine and neuter pluralsexuale)

1. sexual

• sexual inDEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Borrowed fromLate Latinsexuālis.

• IPA^(key):/seɡˈswal/[seɣ̞ˈswal]
• Rhymes:-al
• Syllabification:se‧xual

sexual m orf (masculine and feminine pluralsexuales)

1. sexual(pertaining to the sex of an organism)
2. sexual(pertaining to having sex)
3. sexual(pertaining to sexual orientation or identity)
4. sexual(characterized by sexual feelings or behaviors)

• “sexual”, inDiccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8,Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish:Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10