sexual orientation

noun

plural sexual orientations

: a person's sexual identity or self-identification as bisexual, straight, gay, pansexual, etc. : the state of being bisexual, straight, gay, pansexual, etc.

Last summer a proposal submitted to Family Dollar Stores … persuaded the company's board to adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.—

William G. Sinkford

Liberace went to extraordinary lengths to hide his sexual orientation from the public.—

Entertainment Weekly

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of sexual orientation was in 1946

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Sexual orientation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexual%20orientation. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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