# heterosexual
## English
### Etymology

From hetero- +‎ -sexual.

### Pronunciation

* (General American) IPA: /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/, /ˌhɛtəɹoʊˈsɛkʃuəl/
* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˌhɛtəɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/, /ˌhɛtɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

heterosexual (comparative more heterosexual, superlative most heterosexual)
* (of a person or other animal) Sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex.
** 2021 November 17, Thai PBS, “Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional”, in Thai PBS World‎, Bangkok: Thai Public Broadcasting Service, retrieved 2021-11-17:Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional: Same-sex marriage in Thailand will have to wait, as the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously today (Wednesday) that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, defining marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, is constitutional.
* (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two people of different sex.
    Coordinate terms: gay, homosexual, lesbian, same-sex, single-sex
** 1983, Raymond J[oseph] Corsini, Anthony J[oseph] Marsella, Personality Theories, Research, & Assessment, Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, page 348:Early Adolescence. This is the high school period between 14 and 17 years of age. This is a confusing and stressful period for the teenager, because sexual impulses are now quite strong in spite of societal sanctions against heterosexual activity.
** 1994, Martin S[tephen] Weinberg, Colin J[ohn] Williams, Douglas W. Pryor, Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality, New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 43:On the average, the [bisexual] women’s first heterosexual attraction and experience (at 11.6 and 14.7 years) occurred before their first homosexual attraction and experience (at 16.9 and 21.4 years).
** 2015, Arlene Istar Lev, “Resilience in Lesbian and Gay Couples”, in Karen Skerrett, Karen Fergus, editors, Couple Resilience: Emerging Perspectives, Springer, →ISBN, part II (Resilient Processes and Applications to Specific Populations), page 46:Attempts at eliminating bias against LGBTQ people through education, academically and clinically, often lead to inclusion practices that are “added-on”, i.e., a family therapy course discusses same-sex couples as an addendum lecture at the end of the course, instead of infusing the material throughout the course. Green and Mitchell (2008) ask their readers to imagine authoring an article entitled “Therapy with Heterosexual Couples.”
* (obsolete, medicine) Having a sexual desire for the opposite sex seen as unhealthy, including a proclivity for nonreproductive sex.

#### Synonyms

* (sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex): straight, hetero, other-sex

#### Hyponyms

* heteroflexible
* cishet

#### Coordinate terms

* androsexual
* asexual, ace
* bisexual, bi
* demisexual, demi
* graysexual
* gynesexual
* heterosexual, straight
* homosexual
** gay
** lesbian
* omnisexual
* pansexual, pan
* polysexual
* sapiosexual
* heteroromantic

#### Derived terms

* anti-heterosexual
* antiheterosexual
* cisheterosexual
* heterosexualism
* heterosexualist
* heterosexuality
* heterosexualization
* heterosexualize
* heterosexually
* heterosexualness
* metrosexual
* monoheterosexual
* non-heterosexual
* nonheterosexual
* pseudoheterosexual

#### Related terms

* heterosocial
* heteroerotic
* heterogenital

#### Translations
### Noun

heterosexual (plural heterosexuals)
* A heterosexual person, or other heterosexual organism.
** 2001, John K. Wilson, How the Left Can Win Arguments and Influence People:The laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation apply to all people, gay and straight alike. If an antistraight boss starts firing heterosexuals, they're protected.

#### Synonyms

* (heterosexual person): straight (especially in the plural), hetero, breeder (humorous, often offensive)

#### Antonyms

* homosexual

#### Translations
## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [ˌɛ.tə.ɾu.sək.suˈal]
* IPA: (Balearic) [ˌɛ.tə.ɾo.sək.suˈal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˌɛ.te.ɾo.sek.suˈal]

### Adjective

heterosexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural heterosexuals)
* heterosexual

### Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuals)
* heterosexual

#### Related terms

* heterosexualitat

## Galician
### Etymology

From hetero- +‎ sexual.

### Adjective

heterosexual m or f (plural heterosexuais)
* heterosexual

### Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuais)
* heterosexual

#### Antonyms

* homosexual

#### Derived terms

* heterosexualidade

#### Related terms

* heterofobia

## German
### Etymology

Coined by Austro-Hungarian writer, journalist, translator and bibliographer Karl-Maria Kertbeny in 1868, from hetero- +‎ sexual.

### Adjective

heterosexual (strong nominative masculine singular heterosexualer, not comparable)
* Dated form of heterosexuell.
    Coordinate term: homosexual

#### Declension
## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French hétérosexuel. Equivalent to hetero- +‎ sexual.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌhe.te.ro.sek.suˈal/

### Adjective

heterosexual m or n (feminine singular heterosexuală, masculine plural heterosexuali, feminine and neuter plural heterosexuale)
* heterosexual

#### Declension
### Noun

heterosexual m (plural heterosexuali, feminine equivalent heterosexuală)
* a heterosexual

#### Related terms

* heterosexualitate

## Spanish
### Etymology

From hetero- +‎ sexual.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /eteɾoseɡˈswal/ [e.t̪e.ɾo.seɣ̞ˈswal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: he‧te‧ro‧se‧xual

### Adjective

heterosexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural heterosexuales)
* heterosexual

### Noun

heterosexual m or f by sense (plural heterosexuales)
* heterosexual
    Antonym: homosexual

#### Derived terms

* heterosexualidad

#### Related terms

* heterofobia

### Further reading

* “heterosexual”, in Diccionario 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