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Glite Dictionary
heterosexuality

heterosexuality

9 4.9
Attraction to people of the opposite sex
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛtərəˈsɛkʃuˌælɪti/
translation icon : heterosexualidad
  • I have to face up to my heterosexuality.
  • interracial heterosexuality
  • compulsory heterosexuality
  • privilege of heterosexuality

So in COMPAT, heterosexuality isn't just assumed, it's enforced.

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Examples

  • And I think heterosexuality is making a comeback.

    Boys on the Side (1995)

  • Even if the sciences allow for privacy, they do presume heterosexuality.

    Academic text (1995)

  • In Canada, the colonial and later Dominion governments were concerned with interracial heterosexuality from early on.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Jackson's insistence on his heterosexuality, despite his feminine gender performance, was constantly called into question.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Isn't it time we eliminate heterosexuality's privileged place in our profession?

    Academic text (2009)

  • Many people openly express their heterosexuality in today's society.

  • She talked about her experiences with heterosexuality during the panel discussion.

  • Heterosexuality is one of the most common sexual orientations around the world.

Synonyms

straightness
vsheterosexuality
1 5.6

Being attracted to people of the opposite sex

is the more clinical term used in formal or medical descriptions
heterosex
vsheterosexuality
8.0

Attraction to people of the opposite sex

is the longer more formal term for the same attraction
heterosexualism
vsheterosexuality
7.6

A sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex

is limited to attraction rather than including sexual relations

Antonyms

nonheterosexual
7.0

Describing people not only attracted to the opposite sex

Surface Forms

heterosexuality singular
heterosexualities plural

Morphology

heterosexuality = heterosexual (transparent) = hetero + sexual + ity

Standard noun formation from the adjective 'heterosexual' using the productive suffix '-ity'; the meaning is the state or quality denoted by the adjective.

Etymology

The word heterosexuality comes from the Greek prefix hetero-, meaning 'other' or 'different', plus the word sex. So it literally names attraction to the 'other' or 'opposite' sex, which is why it means being sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.