English Reference
adjective · noun

bisexual

adj. · n.
US /ˌbaɪˈsɛkʃuəɫ/ UK /baɪsˈɛkʃuːəl/ bi·sex·u·al UK spelling bisexuals

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    adj.attracted to people of your own gender and other genders.

    adj.sexually or romantically attracted to both one's own gender and other genders.

    Simple

    She came out as bisexual to her friends during their first year of university.

    In context

    The survey aimed to capture the specific healthcare challenges faced by bisexual individuals compared to their monosexual peers.

    bi
    monosexual
  2. 02 C1 Advanced Technical Science

    adj.having both male and female parts in one living thing, like some plants.

    adj.possessing both male and female reproductive organs; hermaphroditic.

    Simple

    Many garden flowers are bisexual because they have both pollen and seeds in the same bloom.

    In context

    In botanical terms, a bisexual flower contains both functional stamens and a functional carpel, allowing for various reproductive strategies.

    hermaphroditicandrogynous
    unisexual
  3. 03 B1 Intermediate

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

    n.an individual who identifies as having a sexual orientation toward more than one gender.

    Simple

    The community centre offers support groups for bisexuals and other queer people.

    In context

    The study explored how bisexuals navigate social spaces that often assume a binary of straight or gay.

    bi

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".

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated