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homosexuality

Definition of Homosexuality

(noun) Emotional, physical, romantic, or sexual attraction to members of the same sex based on a binary of female and male.

Homosexuality Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ho·mo·sex·u·al·i·ty

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /hoh-muh-sek-shuh-wAl-uh-tee/
  • British English – /hoh-muh-sek-shu-A-li-tee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˌhoʊmoʊˌsɛkʃəˈwælədi/
  • British English – /ˈhəʊməʊsɛksjʊˈælɪti/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: homosexualities
  • Men are referred to as gay and women as lesbian.
  • Homosexuality is compared and contrasted to asexuality, bisexuality, heterosexuality, and pansexuality.
  • Also called:
    • gayness
    • homosexualism
    • homoeroticism
    • queerness
  • A (noun) homosexual lives (adverb) homosexually.

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Encyclopædia Britannica. (N.d.) Britannica Digital Learning. (https://britannicalearn.com/).

Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. 2010. The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. 2nd ed. New York: Norton.

Giddens, Anthony, and Philip W. Sutton. 2014. Essential Concepts in Sociology. Cambridge: Polity.

Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).

Cite the Definition of Homosexuality

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2016. “homosexuality.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/homosexuality/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

homosexuality. (2016). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/homosexuality/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2016. “homosexuality.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/homosexuality/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“homosexuality.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/homosexuality/>.