Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sexual

/sɛk.ʃu.əl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.82 in modern English

Syllables: sex-ual
IPA: /sɛk.ʃu.əl/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes.

adj

Capable of sexual reproduction; sexed, sexuate.

adj

Pertaining to sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact.

adj

Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessing sexuality.

adj

Pertaining to sexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexual behaviour or conduct.

adj

Experiencing sexual attraction; not asexual.

adj

Pertaining to the female sex.

Obsolete

noun

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

Example Sentences

"Women face sexual discrimination in the workplace."
"Giving oral sex is my favorite sexual act."
"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."
"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."
"“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."
"She's a very sexual woman."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder. Proto-Italic *seksus Proto-Indo-European *sek- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti Proto-Italic *sekaō Latin secō Latin secāre? Latin sexus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sexuālisbor. English sexual Borrowed from Latin sexuālis. By surface analysis, sex + -ual.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /sɛk.ʃu.əl/
British English: /sɛk.ʃuː.əl/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more sexual (comparative) most sexual (superlative) sexuals (plural)

Derived Forms

androsexual antisexual asexual autosexual bisexual chemosexual cissexual consexual contrasexual cosexual cybersexual demisexual

Phrases

genetic sexual attraction gray-sexual have sexual relations non-sexual objectum-sexual other-sexual pan-sexual persistent sexual arousal syndrome

Frequently Paired Words

sex

Synonyms

allosexual feminine eusexual intimate

Antonyms

asexual

Rhymes With

bisexual homosexual heterosexual transsexual asexual sapiosexual demisexual lumbersexual omnisexual ambisexual technosexual machosexual

Questions

How do you pronounce sexual?: The recorded pronunciation is /sɛk.ʃu.əl/.
What does sexual mean?: Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes.
Where does sexual come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder. Proto-Italic *seksus Proto-Indo-European *sek- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti Proto-Italic *sekaō Latin secō Latin secāre? Latin sexus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sexuālisbor. English sexual Borrowed from Latin sexuālis. By surface analysis, sex + -ual.

How to pronounce sexual

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sexual”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sɛk.ʃu.əl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sexual”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sexual” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.