homosexuality
- 01 C1 Advanced
sexual activity between people of the same sex.
the practice of engaging in sexual activity with a person of the same sex.
Simple“The laws regarding homosexuality have changed significantly over the last fifty years.”
In context“The historical document discusses the social attitudes toward homosexuality in the nineteenth century, reflecting the rigid moral codes of that era.”
Usageuncountable noun
Synonymssame sex activity
“Earlier this month, the MP Barnaby Joyce described One Nation as “ one of the gayest parties in Australia ” after its failed candidate Parminder Singh described homosexuality as a mental illness.”
“There’s some riffing on the overlaps between gay and autistic, and a fun bit imagining the generation of “non-trauma gays” we might expect now homosexuality is no longer so stigmatised.”
From homosexual + -ity, equivalent to homo- + sexuality and after the model of German Homosexualität, coined by journalist Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1869, and French homosexualité, attested in 1891.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.