ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bisexual

n. countable
B1 Intermediate US //ˌbaɪˈsɛkʃuəɫ// UK //baɪsˈɛkʃuːəl// bi·sex·u·al Archaic

n. a person who is romantically or sexually attracted to more than one gender.

n. an individual who experiences sexual or romantic attraction to people of their own gender and other genders.


SIMPLE

She identifies as a bisexual and is active in the local community.

CONTEXTUAL

The support group provides a safe space for any bisexual who feels misunderstood by both the straight and gay communities.

COMPLEX

Sociologists study how a bisexual may navigate different social expectations depending on the gender of their current partner.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From bi- + -sexual, via the French bisexuel (bi-, sexuel). Attested since 1792 as a synonym in botany for "hermaphroditic" ("having male and female parts"). First used of sexuality in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 Psychopathia Sexualis (in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 English translation thereof, due to the theory that people were naturally attracted to the opposite sex and so the brain or mind of a person attracted to "both" sexes (or to the same sex) must be partly of another sex and thus "hermaphroditic".

Usage

While often used as an adjective, it is also a countable noun for a person; modern usage prefers 'bisexual people' over 'bisexuals' in many formal contexts.

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