homosexual
/ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/ adjective, noun
Forms homosexuals
- adjective (of a person or other animal, formal, distancing or dated) Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to other men or a woman who is attracted to other women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive attraction.) “No, it wouldn't make a difference if the applicant was homosexual.”
- adjective (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship, formal, distancing or dated) Between two people of the same sex; gay. “Most western countries have repealed laws against homosexual activity between consenting adults.”
- adjective (dated) Intended for or used by homosexuals, as a nightclub, a bar, etc.
- noun (typically formal, distancing or dated) A person who is sexually attracted solely or primarily to others of the same sex.
Synonyms
gay lesbian same-sex homophile like that queer similisexual that way This section is divided into two tables of either sex* gay invert same-sexer only of men* company man Uranian only of women* lesbian sapphist of either sex* bugger fruit homo moffie
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from German homosexual, from homo- (“same”) + sexual (“relating to sex or sexuality”), coined by Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and popularized in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (2nd ed. 1887, in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 English translation thereof (compare bisexual), displacing the slightly older term Uranian. Equivalent to homo- + -sexual.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “homosexual”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details